TERRY COLUMN: Brock's time could be short

Brock Osweiler has played well in his NFL debut the last month.

That might not be good enough.

Osweiler, a 2009 Flathead High School grad, has been the talk of the league this week, but not necessarily for his own play.

As the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, Osweiler has gone 3-1 in four starts and landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but the most important part of his game has nothing to do with how he does on the field.

That’s because Peyton Manning returned to practice this week, taking his first snaps for Denver since going down with a series of injuries in the Broncos’ Week 10 loss to the the Kansas City Chiefs.

Manning, possibly the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, has been ruled out for this weekend’s game against Pittsburgh, but not any further than that. And that prognosis, the one that leaves a presumably-healthy, record-setting quarterback on the bench while a first-year starter learns the ropes for a title contender is the one that dooms Osweiler the most.

As well as he’s played, the rope is now short for Osweiler.

And, let’s not lose focus of the fact that he’s played well.

In his first four starts, Osweiler has completed 63.5 percent of his passes, thrown five touchdowns and led a game-winning drive against the Super Bowl-champion New England Patriots.

He’s had his limitations too, getting sacked on nearly 9 percent of his dropbacks this season and failing to throw the ball downfield with regularity, though some of those items can also be due to a struggling offensive line and poor running game.

While many of his numbers compare favorably to Manning this season, Osweiler doesn’t have the same type of leeway as the veteran.

Even if it can be argued he’s growing into an offense he’s had little on-field experience with before this recent stretch, Sunday could be a one-game audition for Osweiler to keep his job this season.

With a healthy Manning looming, the game against the Steelers will be looked at as a referendum on the starting job by many onlookers.

Should he have a shaky start, Osweiler could be right back to holding a clipboard against Cincinnati on Monday Night Football the next week.

A strong start against Pittsburgh, a team that has won four of its last five games, could help Osweiler hold on to his lead gig for another week.

But, short of a Hall of Fame performance by Brock the next few weeks, the itch will be there for the Broncos coaching staff and front office to put Peyton back in the game. The 18-year veteran is nearing the end of his run and it wouldn’t be a stretch for them to try to give Manning one more shot at leading a team to the Super Bowl.

You know, let “The Sheriff” ride the Broncos off into the sunset.

Brock may be the future of the Broncos. Management and the coaching staff have said so in the past. Much of this stretch was also billed as a look into whether Denver should resign Osweiler after his rookie contract ends this spring, and early results have been promising.

But the now is more important. For a team desperate to win it all, going with what’s comfortable may be easier to stomach than the long-term solution.

Manning is a safety blanket, no matter how many holes he’s shown this season.

Osweiler will need to be clearly the best option to hold off Manning down the stretch.

Here’s hoping a guy who has shown some wizardry in the past can pull out a few more tricks this week.