The Denver Broncos are limping into the postseason. It’s ballsy to say that since they are 4-1 in their last five games. I’m saying that because Peyton Manning doesn’t have the same kind of firepower in his arm he had last season. He has turned into a ‘hand-off first’ quarterback.

Since Denver’s 22-7 loss to St. Louis, Manning has only averaged 230 passing yards per game. He has thrown seven touchdowns and six interceptions during the five-game stretch.

After the loss to the Rams, Denver running back C.J. Anderson exploded with back-to-back 160+-yard rushing games, but has fell back down to Earth the last three games. He has averaged more than 25 carries per game in the same span.

Is Peyton Manning playing injured or are the Broncos saving him for the postseason?

The only thing listed on Denver’s injury report concerning Manning was a thigh injury. He suffered the injury in the game against San Diego. He left practice early and received treatment. The injury ‘might’ explain the previous weeks.

I could be nitpicking since he has been accurate, but he just fails the eyeball test. I’m a life-long Colts fan and I’ve watched every game he played with Indy and nearly every game with Denver (because his games tend to be shown nationally every week).

I hope Denver is just being conservative. They basically have a playoff bye week secured. They play Oakland and would need to lose for Cincinnati to possibly catch them. If that’s the case, keep handing the ball off to C.J. Anderson, pal.

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.