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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - It's doubtful that right tackle Michael Schofield will ever have a worse game than he did Sunday, when Khalil Mack shredded him for four of his five second-half sacks. "We all need to execute, especially me. That was definitely probably one of my worst games of all time," Schofield said. "We need to execute every play. Everyone needs to do their job. That's what we've got to get back to."
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Left tackle Ryan Harris was also beaten for a sack, as the Broncos' long-standing depth issues on the offensive line came home to roost Sunday. Denver has been dealing with injuries since Ryan Clady tore his ACL during OTAs, and eventually lost rookie Ty Sambrailo to a torn labrum after three regular-season games.
Schofield stepped into the starting lineup in Week 4, and after some promising performances, he has struggled in the last few weeks, giving up five sacks in the last two games.
The action this year was the first of his career after he was inactive for all of his rookie season, but he dismissed the notion that he's hitting a first-year wall.
"I don't think that's just a rookie wall or anything. I think everyone goes through it," Schofield said. "You've just got to move on, and like I keep saying, just got to learn from this experience and move on."
--For the first time in the last four weeks, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak did not state formally that Brock Osweiler would start the following Sunday.
However, Kubiak said he wants to see Manning practice first before evaluating his readiness for a game.
"That's the next step: that he's coming back for practice," Kubiak said. "If you're coming back to practice, then you're working toward getting back on the field and playing."
Last week, Manning had three throwing sessions of about a half-hour apiece before taking the weekend off. Manning spent Sunday's game on the sideline, and occasionally gave counsel to Osweiler.
"Nothing has changed" regarding the situation, Kubiak added.
"We'll have a plan in place by the time we get to Wednesday," Kubiak said. "We'll see where we are [this week] and kind of take it a day at a time."
NOTES: Running back C.J. Anderson was active, but did not play a down Sunday as he recovers from an ankle injury. Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said he hopes Anderson is back to full strength this week. ... Nose tackle Sylvester Williams returned from an ankle injury and played 32 snaps with no ill effects. He helped the Broncos' defense hold Oakland's Latavius Murray to just 27 yards on 16 carries. ... Inside linebacker Danny Trevathan remained in the NFL's post-concussion protocol over the weekend and did not play, but the Broncos hope to have him back at practice and for the Steelers game. ... Safety T.J. Ward is considered "day-to-day" after missing the last two weeks with an ankle sprain, but has yet to practice or even work out during practice since suffering the injury against New England on Nov. 29. ... Safety David Bruton Jr. sat out Sunday's game with MCL and PCL sprains. Bruton practiced on a limited basis last Friday, and the Broncos hope to have him back this week. ... Safety Omar Bolden was out with a hamstring injury, which not only proved costly on defense, but on special teams, as his replacement - Emmanuel Sanders, the original punt returner before Bolden supplanted him - muffed a punt that led directly to the Raiders' game-winning touchdown. ... Safety Darian Stewart suffered a hamstring injury, but is considered "day-to-day." The Broncos' safety corps has been wrecked by injuries to Ward, Bruton and Bolden in recent weeks. ... Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware returned to action for the first time since aggravating his back injury, but was limited to 15 snaps and did not sack or hit Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
