CHICAGO — He is Peyton Manning, not Perfect Peyton.
There were encouraging throws. There was a discouraging interception. There was a lucky bounce. There was an unlucky deflection. There was evidence of rust. There were glimpses from a successful past in a 31-3 Broncos rout.
All in all, Peyton Manning showed the football world Thursday night in a preseason game against the Chicago Bears that he is back. Back playing quarterback again. Back playing not for the blue and white Indianapolis Colts, his team of the previous 14 seasons, but for the white, blue and orange Broncos.
“Considering where I was a year ago … being out there today, it’s been a long haul for me,” Manning said after the game. “That first snap, that first play, was a big step for me.”
As preseason games go, this one drew an abnormal amount of interest. It was Manning’s health that had generated so much curiosity.
He was once so great, he became the only NFL player to win four most valuable player awards. But would he still be great after missing all of last season with a neck injury that required four surgeries to repair?
Exactly how much Manning is recovered is subject to conjecture, but against the Bears he did show he was healthy enough to complete a first-down pass to receiver Eric Decker on the the wide side of the field. Manning was also healthy enough to convert a third-and-17 by zipping a 19-yard completion to Decker on an “in” route that gave the Broncos a first down at the Bears’ 14.
“I haven’t played with Peyton before,” Decker said, ” but from what I know he hasn’t missed a beat.”
But after not playing a game at NFL speed for 19 months, Manning also threw behind a few receivers. One pass to Jacob Tamme was deflected by a Bears’ defender only to be caught by the Broncos tight end for a 12-yard gain and a first down.
And then on third-and-8 from the Bears’ 12, Manning had slot receiver Brandon Stokley across the middle with a step in the clear. Manning threw behind him. The ball was tipped by a Bears defender and then it bounced off Stokley’s left arm, hung perilously in the air and was picked off by Bears safety Major Wright at the 4-yard line.
“The guy tipped it, but it wasn’t a good route by me,” Stokley said. “All around it was a good first drive, but you have to finish it off.”
The series lasted 11 plays — 12, counting a holding penalty on left tackle Ryan Clady, and other than the lessons it taught went for naught. Encouragement? Manning and the Broncos’ offense should have gained confidence knowing that even when not playing at their best, they can move the ball.
Then again, Manning and the Broncos’ offense know more work is needed if they are to clean up the mistakes and finish off drives with points.
“He was remarkable,” Broncos coach John Fox said of Manning during a halftime TV interview. “He came back — he’s worked very hard. He hasn’t played football in (almost) two years. I thought it was a good first drive in these conditions — it was sloppy. It was sloppy by the receivers as far as the conditions, but I thought it was a very good first outing.”
After the game, Fox told reporters he did not consider holding out Manning because of the weather conditions.
“I think it’s important” for Manning to play, Fox said. “We have four of these (preseason games).”
The one, and only one, possession was enough work for Manning for his first preseason game in two years. And it was far more work than what Bears coach Lovie Smith gave his quarterback, Jay Cutler. The former Broncos Pro Bowl quarterback was yanked from starting after a heavy pregame rain drenched the Soldier Field playing surface. The game was delayed about 10 minutes by lightning.
Manning played and Cutler, who is seven years younger, did not? Feel free to discuss.
While Cutler did not play against his former team, Caleb Hanie did. Hanie was Cutler’s backup in Chicago until he became a free agent and signed with the Broncos. Needing to play well to earn the No. 2 spot behind Manning, Hanie came through.
His 20-yard completion to tight end Cornelius Ingram was the key play in a seven-play, 57-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run by Lance Ball and a 10-0 Broncos lead at halftime.
The Broncos’ first- and second-team defensive units were superb in holding the Bears to just three first downs and 41 total yards in the first half.
True, Cutler and running back Matt Forte didn’t play for the Bears, but their backups, Jason Campbell and Michael Bush, had torched Denver’s D in past years while playing for the Oakland Raiders.
Broncos linebacker Von Miller demonstrated his speed and athleticism on a fumble recovery and return that set up a 28-yard Matt Prater field goal. And rookie defensive lineman Derek Wolfe had two sacks, providing hope that he may be ready to join Miller and Elvis Dumervil in giving the Broncos one of the league’s top pass rushes.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055, mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis
QB WATCH
Peyton Manning
4-for-7, 44 yards, 0 TDs, 1 Int., 36.3 rating
Had a nice opening drive going, but also a drive-killing pick.
Caleb Hanie
7-for-14, 79 yards, 0 TDs, 0 Int., 67.3 rating, 3 rushes, 23 yards
Led a TD drive and played like capable backup.
Brock Osweiler
4-for-7, 38 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int., 111.9 rating
Led No. 3 offense to two touchdowns in third quarter, one on a 19-yard TD pass to Jason Hill.
Adam Weber
2-for-5, 42 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int., 110.0 rating
Had a 17-yard completion to Gerrell Robinson, a long completion wiped out by a penalty and a drop by Robinson. Converted third-and-13 with a 25-yard TD pass to Cornelius Ingram.
