BOX SCORE
DENVER -- Philip Wheeler was having flashbacks. And not good ones.For the first three years of his NFL career in Indianapolis, Wheeler went up against Peyton Manning on a daily basis in practice. Sunday, it counted. For real. And Manning made Wheeler and the Raiders pay dearly in a 37-6 Broncos victory that really should not have been that close.So after sitting out last year recovering from his third neck surgery and having questions about his arm strength this year, is that the same Manning Wheeler saw for all those years?"Yeah, it is," Wheeler said, slowly shaking his head. "Not a lot of deep, nine-route balls. Not a lot of deep, over-the-top balls. A lot of quick, short throws. A lot of checking at the line from run to pass when he sees an eight-man front. A lot of that."And a lot of yardage. Manning threw for 338 yards on 30 of 38 passing for three touchdowns and a passer rating of 130.0. He did not throw an interception -- though Pat Lee dropped one that hit him in the gut -- and he was not sacked. In fact, Manning was not touched. The Raiders were not credited with a quarterback hit.Give Manning that kind of time, and he'll pick you apart."I certainly have things that I'm working on," Manning said, "things that I want to do. I have a lot on my plate. I try not to add too much to my burden. I understand what comes with playing the position. I am well aware of that but, like I said, I still have things that I am working on, being in a new system, coming off an injury, and that's kind of part of the process."Give him the slightest advantage, and he'll exploit it.In the first half, Manning ran the no-huddlefast-break offense and the Broncos scored their first first-quarter touchdown of the season. In the second half, Manning went into full-audible mode at the line of scrimmage."Peyton Manning's one of the best at making corrections and making changes after the half, after he sees what's going on," said Wheeler, who had nine tackles and a pass defensed."He's one of the best at that and he showed it."Over and over again against a Raiders defense that was as gassed as it was flummoxed.
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