DENVER, CO – DECEMBER 13: Injured quarterback Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos, left, has a word with quarterback Brock Osweiler #17 as players warm up before a game against the Oakland Raiders at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on December 13, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Brock Osweiler’s unlikely reign as the Broncos’ starting quarterback will continue another week, the team announced Wednesday.

Peyton Manning, who is recovering from a torn plantar fascia, will be inactive for the sixth straight week.

Osweiler has been pretty good for the Broncos in the five and a half games he has played so far this season, completing 60.3% of his passes for 1,436 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. The former second-round pick’s play has created some degree of quarterback controversy in Denver as Manning nears a return.

Here’s what Broncos coach Gary Kubiak had to say about Manning’s contributions from the sidelines.

“He’s contributed a great deal, yeah. He’s very much involved,” Kubiak said Monday. “He had a lot of good ideas [Sunday]. He’s doing everything that we ask him to do and he’s doing it because he wants to do it.”

Based on everything coming out of Denver, it sounds like Manning could maybe play this week if he had to but doesn’t feel the need to rush, with Osweiler playing well. Earlier this week, Manning denied a report that he did not want to serve as the Broncos’ back-up. Rookie Trevor Siemian will continue to back up Osweiler as Manning recovers.

The Broncos play the Bengals on Monday in a game that will likely determine who gets the second first-round bye in the AFC. Osweiler will face Cincinnati back-up A.J. McCarron in a quarterback match-up no one would have imagined two months ago.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.

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