Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning must succeed this week

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is a living legend, but let’s just say that he hasn’t exactly looked legendary out there this season. With more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (six) and an anemic 6.5 yards per attempt, Manning has been one of the bottom-half starting quarterbacks in the league this season. In fact, only five quarterbacks have lower QB Ratings than Manning’s 77.3, and we all know he has the defense to thank for his strong play this season.

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Tomorrow’s game against the Cleveland Browns should be an interesting one for a variety of reasons, and we’ll get to see back-to-back-week wonder Josh McCown trying to prove he’s no fluke against a defense that is easily the best in the NFL. But the more important QB-defense battle will be between Manning and the Browns, mostly because this game could tell us just how far Manning has fallen.

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We saw the 39-year-old cobble together a decent performance in a Week 3 win against a weak Detroit Lions pass D, and he’ll face an even more under-manned Browns defensive backfield tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. ET in FirstEnergy. Neither Joe Haden nor Tashaun Gipson will be available for Cleveland, and while both superstar DBs have been off to slow starts this season, it’s hard to see any better alternatives on the Browns pass defense right now.

It’s quite clear that Cleveland’s defense has been a huge disappointment through the first five weeks of the 2015 season, because they are 22nd in points per game allowed. Worse yet, the Browns awful run defense from last year hasn’t been rectified, as opponents are slamming them to the tune of 5.0 yards per carry. Only one team has allowed more rushing yards this season, and that bodes well for Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson, who have failed to give Manning the type of running game that was supposed to make life easier on his declining arm.

Even if this isn’t the week that Anderson and Hillman wake up from their slumbers to produce some much-needed consistency on the ground, Manning still has an extremely favorable matchup on tap. Not many of us expected the Browns run defense to look good this season, but it’s safe to say that most of us thought a secondary comprised of Haden, Gipson, Donte Whitner, Tramon Williams, and K’Waun Williams would be one of the best in the NFL.

Instead, they have allowed a ridiculous ten touchdowns to just one interception, and they have been a bottom-five pass defense overall with 7.1 net yards per attempt surrendered. These guys are getting burned regularly, and they clearly can’t make enough big plays to overcome these other issues. It’s quite bizarre to see how poorly this unit has performed so far this season, especially since Gipson, for example, was tied for the lead in interceptions last season.

Furthermore, the Browns pass rush has been rather weak, which is a disappointment considering how well Paul Kruger and Barkevious Mingo combined last season. The Broncos maligned offensive line won’t have any excuses for failure tomorrow afternoon, because they are facing a group of pass rushers that has been equally underwhelming. Of course, the Browns run defense has been even worse, so Evan Mathis and Co. are also on the spot.

However, it all circles back to Manning, because he’s the legend, marquee guy, and big name. His play to start this season has been nearly as bad as it was to close out his 2014 campaign, and Manning desperately needs to show observers that he’s more than just a mediocre QB. It wasn’t long ago when Manning was still the consensus third-best QB in the league, as he used Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders to put up jaw-dropping numbers in the first half of the 2014 season. Sanders and Thomas have been equally effective this season, but, well, Manning hasn’t.

Some view Manning and his declining skill-set as a massive liability, because he can’t move and can’t challenge defenses vertically. Charles Woodson‘s picks of Manning in the Broncos almost embarrassingly narrow win over their AFC West rivals were examples of his lack of ability to drive the ball at this stage of his career.

He won’t get many matchups that are easier than the one he’ll face tomorrow, because he will get to play against a defense that hasn’t rushed the passer well, has been shockingly awful in run defense, and is missing its two best defensive players in a secondary that has been one of the NFL’s most error-prone.

Oct 4, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) passes the football in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Vikings 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Although the term “error-prone” can be used to describe Manning’s high rate of INTs this season, this is still a battle he should win. If he can’t succeed tomorrow, then the panic alarms will go off.

Because for as insanely good as this Broncos defense has been, it’s hard to trust a team with a quarterback who can’t get the job done. As we saw last year against the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round, it only takes one meltdown game at QB to ruin a team.

That said, for as disappointing as the Broncos offense has been this season, the Browns defense has been even worse. I have confidence in Manning’s ability to avoid having a third-straight poor game with multiple interceptions, but succeeding is different from not struggling.

There’s plenty of pressure on players like Anderson and the offensive linemen to perform tomorrow, but, again, it’s clear that Manning’s play is paramount for Denver when it comes to this team’s long-term outlook and Super Bowl odds.

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