Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning struggled for most of three quarters Sunday against the Houston Texans. His timing and accuracy were just a little off. Manning was 17-of-37 passing with 10 minutes left in the game.
And then he turned it on in the fourth quarter.
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Yes, that's rather similar to how the previous week against the Atlanta Falcons played out. Manning faced a lot of pressure in Houston's 31-25 win and wound up completing just half his passes. The Denver Post noted that nearly every Broncos wide receiver, tight end and running back dropped at least one pass or had a miscommunication with Manning. Demaryius Thomasseemed especially out of sync.
"Anytime throwing incomplete passes, that's a 'we' thing," Manning said via the Denver Post. "We've got to find a way to just move the chains, keep our defense off the field, stay on the field and convert touchdowns down in the red zone."
Somehow, we've come this far without talking about Manning's arm strength. He threw some bullets late in the game, but he also had some wobblers.
"The only thing that really bothers me about Peyton right now is the ball is not spinning out of his hand ala an Aaron Rodgers, a Matthew Stafford, the guys who really spin it. So I think that eventually will come when he gets healthy," ESPN's Ron Jaworski said Monday, via Evan Silva of ProFootballTalk.com.
"Peyton Manningcan't throw the ball anymore," one veteran scout told NFL.com and NFL Network's Albert Breer.
That's an overstatement, but Manning hasn't thrown the ball as consistently in the season's first three weeks. We still think Manning's ability to get on the same page as his receivers will be even more important than the zip on his passes.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
