Down 11 points to the Miami Dolphins and facing a fourth-and-two on the final play of the third quarter, the Denver Broncos offense made a change. Facing a seven-man front and blitz look, tight end Virgil Green moved from the right side to the left and Peyton Manning and running back C.J. Anderson realigned from the shotgun to the pistol. Manning handed off to Anderson, who romped 20 yards for a first down to spark a furious rally that ended with a 39-36 Denver victory.
Adam Gase, not Peyton Manning, called game-winning audible
Peyton is an audible guru, but it was his offensive coordinator who made the change to a run on a critical second-half, fourth-down conversion.
Seeing as how Manning is a noted master of line of scrimmage adjustments, it’s natural to assume the Hall of Fame quarterback was responsible. But as Manning explained after the game, it’s actually offensive coordinator Adam Gase who deserves the credit.
“To tell you the truth, Adam made the change,” Manning told team columnist Andrew Mason. “We got to the line of scrimmage pretty early and we had time on the clock and so Adam actually made the change from the sideline.”
NFL rules allow coaches to communicate with their quarterback through the helmet mic up until the play clock hits 15 seconds. On that play, Denver got to the line with 19 seconds left, giving Gase a precious few seconds get Manning to call the audible.
“It was critical,” Manning added. “We ran the ball to the left and it was a good thing that we changed it because we really didn’t have a good play based on the look that they were showing early and we did make the change. I think it was what Adam wanted to get to all along.”
See More:
