A week and a half ago, the football-viewing public tried to bury Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos before the veteran quarterback rose from a slow start to help his team defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in primetime. Now, Manning gets to do it all over again on Sunday Night Football, which can be streamed online via the NBC Sports website.
Nearly all of social media tried to retire Manning after a poor early showing in Week 2. The future Hall of Famer guided the Broncos to two punts and a turnover on downs before throwing a pick-six, his second of the year. However, after head coach Gary Kubiak allowed Manning to shift back into his preferred shotgun-heavy approach, the offense took off. Manning finished the game with 256 passing yards and three touchdowns, including an impressive strike to wideout Emmanuel Sanders to tie the game near the end of the fourth quarter. Though he picked up his performance, another poor outing could see the vultures return in short order.
As for the Detroit Lions, they're worried about Matthew Stafford's health. The quarterback suffered injuries to his throwing arm, chest and ribs during last week's game against the division rival Minnesota Vikings. The team believes he avoided a serious injury and expect him to start this week, but Stafford will clearly be less than 100 percent.
Regardless Stafford's status, the Lions badly need a win after falling to 0-2. The team has a brutal stretch coming up, with games against the Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals over the next three weeks. If they cannot win at least one of those games, their playoff chances become slim.
How to watch
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
TV: NBC
Commentators: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra