RADIO
It hasn’t been the best offense throughout the 17-year career of Peyton Manning, but the good news is that the banged-up quarterback should be out there on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs while a banged-up Emmanuel Sanders will be out there catching passes despite an ankle injury.
Sanders hasn’t practiced all week after hurting his ankle on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. The 28-year-old still caught six passes for 90 yards and a touchdown during the Denver Broncos' three-point loss. Broncos coach Gary Kubiak expects Sanders to be out there on Sunday and able to produce through the pain.
"My gut tells me he'll get there," Kubiak told USA Today. "Expectation is he'll push to play."
Sanders was Manning’s favorite target in 2014, finishing the year with 101 REC, 1,404 YDs and nine TDs.
Manning is dealing with a foot injury. The 39-year-old sat out of Wednesday’s practice to rest from the soreness. He wasn’t wearing any braces or taping, according to The Denver Post. The day of rest was simply to rest his foot. Another reason he might have had the day off is because the offense is finally starting to come back around. He was out there and practicing like normal on Thursday.
"Who's not sore (in Week 10)?" Manning asked the media on Wednesday, according to NFL.com. "Trying to get better; trying to get healthy."
In order for the offense to put points on the board along with a dominant defense, the Broncos need Sanders out there. In eight games this season, Sanders has caught 46 passes for 639 yards and four TDs. He’s started to come on of late and has become the home-run threat again that he was last year during his breakout season. Manning needs a healthy Sanders to help take pressure off fellow receiver Demaryius Thomas.
Denver played the Chiefs back in Week 2 of the season and left with a 31-24 victory. Kansas City has been up-and-down all season on defense, allowing 255.9 YDS/game this year. The Chiefs have eight interceptions and 21 sacks, which means Manning might have to avoid a pass-rush but could be able to pass all over the Chiefs’ secondary. He’s only three yards away from Brett Favre’s NFL record for passing yards (71,838). It will be another record broken by Manning during his hall of fame career.
