Peyton Manning: Pass Protection Must Improve for Broncos to Win AFC West

It's obvious that pass protection must be there for any team in the NFL to succeed consistently, but what should also be concerning the Denver Broncos is the fact that Peyton Manning struggles mightily when he's pressured.

That's right, the great Peyton Manning, who has racked up 11 Pro Bowl selections, four MVP awards and a Super Bowl MVP, struggles under pressure.

Now, I'm not talking about the kind of pressure when the game is on the line and you only have two minutes to lead your team to victory. Manning has shown he has no trouble whatsoever in these types of situations.

What I am talking about is his interception rate when defenses swarm him in the backfield. 

According to ProFootballFocus.com,  Manning threw an interception 4.6 percent of the time when he was pressured over the last three years. That ranked fifth most in the entire league over that span.

Manning sustained three sacks and was hit six times against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. That's why it shouldn't have come as a surprise when he threw three interceptions at the Georgia Dome. 

Now, in Manning's defense, you can point to his accuracy percentage when he's pressured or the fact that he generally doesn't take many sacks. That's certainly worth mentioning.

But, when it comes down to it, what's more important: accuracy and sack percentage or interception percentage? Most would argue that interception percentage is more important to the outcome of a game. (For example, Manning still managed to complete 65 percent of his passes on Monday.)

What it could create is the perfect storm in Denver: a struggling offensive line coupled with a quarterback who is prone to turnovers when the pocket collapses.

The Broncos gave up 42 sacks last season, tied for ninth-most in the NFL. This was despite throwing the ball a league-low 429 times.

The offensive line in Denver needs to improve significantly, or the glorious start in Week 1 may look like a mirage down the road.