ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After seeing just 12 snaps in the club's 31-3, preseason-opening win at Chicago, quarterback Peyton Manning and the first-team offense will get a little more playing time this Saturday.
Head Coach John Fox said that the starters will play to the end of the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason home opener at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Regardless, the amount of time he's in the game doesn't matter to Manning. His goal remains the same.
"All I know is when we're in there, we want to do our job and try to move the ball down the field and hopefully get some points," he said. "The goal still is to win the game."
In last week's preseason opener, Manning completed four of his seven pass attempts for 44 yards, driving the Broncos into the Bears red zone before his final pass was tipped and intercepted.
Even with a full half to work with this Saturday, Manning will still be limited to a set number of drives, making each play that much more important.
"I still think it is a little bit more pressure that you're only in there for a certain amount of plays and you want them all to go well," Manning said. "You still have that feeling a little bit that you're in there and you've got to have a sense of urgency."
Looking to relieve some of that pressure will be an orange-clad crowd at Sports Authority Field. Though he got a taste of the stadium crowd during the team's Summer Scrimmage, Manning said he's looking forward to his first game in front of the home fans.
"Having played here as an opponent, I know how loud and emotional and passionate the crowd is here in Denver, so it'll be nice to be on the home side of it," he said. "I know Coach Fox has talked about it all year that we've got to play well at home. You've got to try to have that home-field advantage, and I know it's important for the players to play well so the fans can be excited and make it tough on opponents."
As for the looming question -- how will Manning react to taking his first hit? The quarterback said it's not looming over him.
"That seems to be a hot topic," he said. "I had a lady the other day who said, 'Everybody just can't wait to see you get hit.' Thank you. Off the air she told me she didn't mean it, and I told her, 'I'm sure you didn't.'
"Like I said, I have played football for a long time, and when it happens, I plan on getting up and hopefully completing a pass on the next play and moving the chains."
