Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is coming off the worst game of his long NFL career, and according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), a foot injury may have played a significant role in the future Hall-of-Famer’s poor performance on Sunday. Schefter reports that Manning, who had been battling plantar fasciitis, had the injury worsen, suffering a torn plantar fascia in his right foot.
As Schefter explains (via Twitter), it’s possible to play through such an injury — Peyton’s brother, Eli Manning, was able to play through a fully torn plantar fascia during the 2009 season, for instance. However, according to Schefter, Peyton has a partial tear, which is even more painful to play through.
Manning became the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage on Sunday, but the milestone was the lone bright spot in a dreadful performance that included four interceptions and just five completions on 20 passing attempts. While it seems unlikely the 39-year-old will continue to play that poorly, he hasn’t looked right for most of the 2015 season, and he has also been dealing with a rib issue. Ultimately, given how Manning is struggling to push of his back foot, the Broncos may prefer to let him rest for a little while, giving Brock Osweiler a shot.
Osweiler, who turns 25 next Sunday, wasn’t great in relief of Manning in yesterday’s game against the Chiefs, but he at least injected a little life into the offense, throwing for 146 yards and a touchdown. If Osweiler gets some additional playing time this season, it could go a long way to determining his potential stock on the open market this winter, since the former second-round pick is in a contract year.
