Brock Osweiler to Start vs. Chargers: Latest Comments and Reaction

Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak wasted no time Monday in naming Brock Osweiler the team's starting quarterback for Week 17, per Around the NFL.

Osweiler, who took over for injured starter Peyton Manning (foot) in Week 10, will make his seventh straight start when Denver takes on the San Diego Chargers as it tries to wrap up the AFC West.

Kubiak delayed his decision until midweek leading up to Denver's Week 16 Monday Night Football win over the Cincinnati Bengals before naming Osweiler the starter over Manning—who had begun practicing again.

Kubiak's decision Monday comes on the heels of a report from Al Jazeera (via Nate Davis of USA Today) that linked Manning to human growth hormone, which the NFL has banned. Manning has denied the allegations, and the source of them, Charlie Sly, has claimed his statements in the report were false.

Osweiler, who had struggled in the second half in previous weeks, helped Denver come back from an early 14-0 deficit with a strong performance after halftime Monday.

He finished 27-of-39 for 299 yards and one touchdown and is now 4-2 as the starter. However, as early as Monday morning, it was not clear who would take the snaps under center in Week 17.

Speaking on NFL Total Access (via Dan Hanzus of NFL.com), NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said there would be "no chance" of Manning starting next week if Osweiler were to have a good game against Cincinnati, but if Osweiler had struggled, Kubiak would have had a decision to make.

While the accusations leveled at Manning are just that and should not affect him on the field, starting him could have brought a media firestorm to Denver—the last thing a team needs as it tries to avoid blowing the three-game division lead it had held with five games to play.

Although the win secured a playoff spot for Denver, a Week 17 loss coupled with a Kansas City Chiefs victory would hand the division to the Chiefs, who were once left for dead at 1-5.

Rapoport tweeted after the game that going with Osweiler is the smart thing to do:

Although Manning is a future Hall of Famer, he had thrown just nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions before going down with the injury. If he were to get the start and struggle after being out for so long, it could cost Denver a home playoff game.

The Broncos' best bet is to go with the hot hand, and that's Osweiler.