Peyton Manning lined up a few yards behind center, crouching at the precipice of history. Bearing down on the north end zone of Sports Authority Field with a chance to become the second NFL quarterback to throw his 500th career touchdown pass, the Broncos' 38-year-old superstar surveyed his options like a foodie studying the menu at Emeril's.
Should he serve up the fateful ball for Wes Welker, who would reach an eye-popping milestone of his own later in Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals? Should he look to new toy Emmanuel Sanders, one of the NFL's most explosive receivers so far in 2014? Should he switch things up by throwing to veteran wideout Andre Caldwell? Or should he connect with Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas, who would end the day as the NFL's leader in touchdown receptions?
Nice work if you can get it. Oh, and by the way: Manning's most potent target, Pro Bowl wideout Demaryius Thomas, wasn't even on the field.
It turned out Julius Thomas got the nod, abusing Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson to complete the 7-yard scoring play just in front of the right pylon, the first of two trips to the end zone he'd make during Denver's 41-20 thrashing of the Cards (3-1) on Sunday. Don't cry for Demaryius, however -- he ended the day with eight catches for a franchise-record 226 yards and a pair of TDs, helping Manning to a career-high 479-yard explosion.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...ing-frustrated
Should he serve up the fateful ball for Wes Welker, who would reach an eye-popping milestone of his own later in Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals? Should he look to new toy Emmanuel Sanders, one of the NFL's most explosive receivers so far in 2014? Should he switch things up by throwing to veteran wideout Andre Caldwell? Or should he connect with Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas, who would end the day as the NFL's leader in touchdown receptions?
Nice work if you can get it. Oh, and by the way: Manning's most potent target, Pro Bowl wideout Demaryius Thomas, wasn't even on the field.
It turned out Julius Thomas got the nod, abusing Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson to complete the 7-yard scoring play just in front of the right pylon, the first of two trips to the end zone he'd make during Denver's 41-20 thrashing of the Cards (3-1) on Sunday. Don't cry for Demaryius, however -- he ended the day with eight catches for a franchise-record 226 yards and a pair of TDs, helping Manning to a career-high 479-yard explosion.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...ing-frustrated
Comment