Peyton Manning will most likely be fine
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) after a win against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. The Broncos won 28-20. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Broncos star quarterback Peyton Manning had himself another monster game in yesterday evening’s 28-20 victory over the rival San Diego Chargers in a key AFC West battle. The Chargers managed to hold down Manning in the second half and make the game a one-score affair, but the Broncos jumped out to too big of a lead too early on in the ball game for the Chargers to recover.
In the fourth quarter, Manning went down hard on a hit from Chargers defensive end Corey Liuget, who surprisingly wasn’t flagged for the low hit around Manning’s ankles and knees. Manning came into the game with well-documented ankle issues, but he suffered a knee injury on that hit. The top MVP candidate’s first attempt to get up from the hit was unsuccessful, as he fell back to the ground again and had to burn a timeout. It was great to see that Manning didn’t suffer a severe injury, but he stated after the game that he will undergo an MRI today to ensure that nothing is amiss.
The Denver Broncos face the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs next week, so they had better hope that Manning is indeed fine. Nobody expects him to miss any games, but you can never be too sure. The great news is that Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes that the “thinking” is that Peyton Manning “will be fine” despite the knee injury. Florio points to the fact that Manning mentioned the MRI himself, which to him is an indication that Manning is upset with the officials about the non-call and wants the league to do something about it. It’s unclear if Florio is purely speculating or is hearing something from a source, but I would think that Florio is making a very educated guess from what he is hearing. Today’s MRI will confirm or deny any fears about Manning’s status, but I also don’t anticipate anything but a clean MRI.
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