We are two wins and one week away from the Tom Brady-Peyton Manning showdown that usually has networks drooling.
But there has been little hype about the potential matchup between the two future Hall of Famers because of the uncertainty that surrounds Manning. The Broncos quarterback had a disastrous regular season, throwing 17 interceptions in nine games before being benched and then sidelined by a foot injury. He came off the bench to relieve Brock Osweiler in Week 17 to reclaim the starting job.
Manning attempted just nine passes in one decent half, and now he is being thrown into a showdown with a Steelers team that, if healthy, has the potential to be an offensive juggernaut.
“The way that Manning finished up against the Chargers and the way his teammates celebrated with him was a great sign,” CBS analyst and former Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts said. “To see him smile again — we hadn’t seen Manning smile for a year — just to see the way it came down. … It just gives me a good feeling about the support he’ll get in this game.”
But even that giddiness from Fouts, supplemented by fellow CBS analysts Bill Cowher and Phil Simms on a conference call this week, had to be tempered by the potential for a Manning dud in what could be the biggest game he has left in his career.
“And the other thing is: If things don’t go well, the Broncos know they have a backup quarterback in Osweiler who can get the job done,” said Fouts, who is calling the Chiefs-Patriots game in Foxborough on Saturday afternoon. “That’s a real hidden plus for Denver.”
The reasons the Broncos have for planning on a Manning revival are three-fold: They have a solid running game to keep the pressure off him, the punishment saved from weeks of regular-season rest will now pay off when it’s most important and the 39-year-old has a well-earned reputation as the smartest quarterback in the game.
“The thing I noticed when Peyton Manning came into the game [against the Chargers] — all the little things: how he makes the defense wait and wait until he decides what to do,” Simms said. “You’re always on edge and lose your aggressiveness sometimes when you play a quarterback like Peyton Manning because you’re sitting over there guessing what he’s going to do.
“The mind is every bit as important to the quarterback as to what he can do physically.”
Brady has no cakewalk into the AFC Championship game, either, as the Chiefs enter Saturday’s matchup on an 11-game winning streak following a 30-0 wild-card-round romp over the Texans. But while the Broncos may have to carry Manning, it will fall on Brady to drag the banged-up Patriots past Andy Reid’s team.
“It might be his best season,” Fouts said of Brady’s 12-win, 36-touchdown, 4,770-yard campaign. “He never knew from week to week who his offensive line was going to be, who he was throwing the ball to, who he was handing it off to. He’s been phenomenal in his dedication and determination in winning his fifth Super Bowl.”