Juwan Thompson

Buoyed by the cries of panicked fantasy football owners, Denver's passing game came under the spotlight this week and head coach John Fox had to answer for the quarterback with 36 passing touchdowns. That is tied for the most in the NFL.

"Our passing game is fine, you never know we might put our foot on the gas and throw it 50 times," Fox said, via ESPN.com. "I can't really predict what's going to happen because a lot of it is based on what an opponent does. ...There is nothing wrong with our passing game, we've just run it a little bit more the past few weeks. Just like there was nothing wrong with our run game ... when people were blowing fuses on that."

Over the last four weeks, Peyton Manning's numbers have been slightly grounded while the Broncos answered previous critics and developed their running game into playoff form. Last week against a very good Buffalo Bills front, Denver got strong performance from both C.J. Anderson and Juwan Thompson, which resulted in three rushing touchdowns. Manning's streak of 51 straight games with a passing touchdown came to an end and he had two picks.

Thinking anything is wrong with the Broncos is wasted energy, according to the story. Consider the fact that defenses are simply daring Manning and the Broncos to run the football, and have eliminated many of their extra pass rushers to increase the number of defenders they can place in coverage. Everyone knows what Manning is capable of, which is why developing a ground game is paramount, the piece went on to say. If you were lucky enough to survive Week 14 playoffs with Manning as your QB, it's certainly something to think about, but you may not be able to live with yourself benching Manning this time of year. Denver plays at San Diego Week 15 then at Cincy Monday night of Week 16. We haven't heard the last of Manning this season.