Peyton Manning appreciates history. As a child, he listened to cassettes of father Archie’s games at Ole Miss, memorizing the players. It doesn’t mean he likes talking about his history.
Manning returns to Indianapolis on history’s doorstep, needing 284 yards to pass Brett Favre on the all-time passing yards list and one victory to become the winningest quarterback in NFL history. Manning didn’t bite Wednesday on the added significance. His teammates, however, aren’t shying away from the storyline.
“Of course they beat us in the playoffs last year, and I am upset about that,” Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall said. “But I just really want to win for Peyton. It would be huge. For him to do it there against the team that cut him. Man, that would be big. That’s who I am playing for.”
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Tackling the future. The Broncos were on the verge of agreeing to a deal for Cleveland left tackle Joe Thomas on Tuesday before walking away from the Browns’ demands for three draft picks, including a first-rounder in 2017. It would have impacted Ryan Harris, the Broncos’ current starter. But it didn’t ruin his week.
“I was oblivious to it. I wasn’t aware. I can’t deal in hypotheticals,” Harris said. “I am happy here. We are playing well.”
Harris is an NFL survivor, healing from a back injury in the past and working through a knee injury this season. The plan remains to platoon Harris with Tyler Polumbus. The Broncos haven’t allowed a sack in back-to-back games and have run for 312 yards.
