Between them, defensive tackle Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton and offensive guard Orlando “Big O” Franklin weigh about 675 pounds.
One is as introspective as the other. As exasperating as the sting of a 24-13 playoff defeat Sunday to the Indianapolis Colts was, Knighton, Franklin and 10 other players in the losing locker room may have just played their last game with the Broncos.
“That’s one of the toughest parts of this,” Knighton said. “Right now, if I knew I had another year under my belt, I would be thinking revenge already. But I don’t know how things are going to work. I hope to be here for the rest of my career, but I know how the business part affects things.”
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Knighton was a free agent from Jacksonville whom the Broncos signed two years ago. Franklin is one of the Broncos’ own, a second-round draft pick in 2011 who has been a four-year starter.
“Sadly, this might be it, but I’d love to stay here,” said Franklin, who was raised in Jamaica and Canada. “First time I ever went to an NFL game, I was wearing a Bronco helmet. I’d love to be here. But the fact of the matter is, it’s about whether they want me back.”
Other Broncos unrestricted free agents: Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Wes Welker, Rahim Moore, Nate Irving, Jacob Tamme, Virgil Green, Quinton Carter, Will Montgomery and Mitch Unrein.
Talib, on Hilton. Initially, Andrew Luck’s favorite receiver — the small, quick and fast T.Y. Hilton — had his way against Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib, who is a taller, physical-type defender.
Rather than switch, Denver defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio had Talib play well off Hilton while also mixing in zone coverages off man-to-man looks.
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Hilton finished with modest numbers — four catches for 72 yards — but he also drew first-half penalties on Talib, who played much better in the second half.
“It wasn’t good enough,” Talib said. “I don’t know what the numbers were and all that, but they had 24 points and we had 13, so it wasn’t good enough.”
Mad-tossing Peyton. After Peyton Manning was 3-of-3 for 36 yards on the Broncos’ first touchdown drive, he was just 4-of-15 for 35 yards the rest of the first half.
Several of his first-half incompletions were on repeated “go long” routes.
“Those were my decisions,” Manning said. “A couple of them were called to go that way. A couple of them had some other options with it. I ended up taking some long shots. Anytime you lose a game, you always look to some incompletions and throws you’d like to have back. I know I had two to Emmanuel (Sanders) where I thought he was open. So there were two in particular I’d like to have back. And then some other ones I possibly could have, probably should have, gone to a shorter throw.”
The Guarantee.
Thompson, Unrein out. Midweek optimism about injuries faded Sunday for running back Juwan Thompson (hip/knee) and Unrein (knee). Both were inactive. Jeremy Stewart replaced Thompson and received a penalty for running into the punter. Linebacker Shaquil Barrett, a former Colorado State star, made the roster, providing depth with the absence of Quanterus Smith (knee) and Unrein.
Horsepower from Irsay. Colts owner Jim Irsay didn’t gloat, but he said Sunday’s result helped affirm his team’s decision to draft Luck to replace Manning. Luck won his first playoff road game, completing 27-of -43 passes for 265 yards.
“I knew it was the right thing to do for the Colts,” Irsay said. “Peyton and I talked about it. He said it best in his press conference. I didn’t decide. He didn’t decide. The football gods had laid out the cards, and we both knew it was best for him and for us. Emotionally, it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.”
Footnotes. Denver allowed the Colts to convert five third downs and was continually punished for breakdowns in the red zone. … The Broncos showed two new formations. They used an up-back on the Colts’ first punt, Josh Bush stationed 20 yards in front of Welker on the return. In the second quarter, Green lined up as a fullback and served as a lead blocker for C.J. Anderson.
