Peyton got hurt in 2015. he wasn’t benched if memory serves me correctly.
Brock Osweiler - Wikipedia
PM was benched
Then they claimed "injury
Then PM returned to practice and BO still started 7 games
In the finale, BO was ineffective and hurt his knee.
PM "to the rescue"
from the wiki page:
Against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 15, 2015, Osweiler took over for Peyton Manning, who was benched after throwing
four interceptions and posting a passer rating of 0.0.[28] The Broncos later announced that Osweiler would start in place of the
injured Manning the following week against the Chicago Bears.[29]
In his first start on his 25th birthday, he completed 20 out of his 27 passes for 250 yards with two touchdowns and a 127.1 passer rating in a 17–15 win over the Bears, becoming the first player to start and win his first career game on his birthday.[30] He was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Bears.[31] Osweiler was presented the game ball after the game by head coach Gary Kubiak.[32]
The next day, it was announced that Osweiler would start the following week against the New England Patriots.[33] On November 29, 2015, Osweiler led the Broncos to a win over the then-undefeated Patriots in overtime, 30–24. He completed 23 of 42 passes for 270 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.[34]
Osweiler started his third consecutive game for the injured Manning during Week 13 against the San Diego Chargers. He finished the game with 16 of 26 completions (61.5%) for 166 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception.[35]
The following week, Osweiler suffered his first loss in a 15–12 defeat to the Oakland Raiders. He capped the game off with a career-high 51 attempts, completing 35 of them for 308 yards.[36]
On December 15, it was announced that Osweiler would start his fifth consecutive game against the Pittsburgh Steelers alt
hough Manning had returned to practice.[37] During the game Osweiler completed 21 of 44 passes for 296 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception.[38] He also carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards and a seven-yard touchdown, but the Broncos ultimately lost 34–27.[39]
In Week 16, Osweiler started his s
ixth consecutive game against the Cincinnati Bengals, completing 27 of 39 attempts for 299 yards and one touchdown in a 20–17 overtime win.[40]
In the Broncos' regular-season finale, on January 3, in his 7th start Osweiler was replaced by Manning in the third quarter after throwing two interceptions and fumbling once. Later it was announced that Osweiler suffered a low-grade strain to the medial collateral ligament of his right knee in that game.
