Broncos coach John Fox endorses Peyton Manning for MVP

• Denver is 12-3, has won 10 in a row and has a shot at homefield advantage in the AFC
• Peyton Manning has thrown for 4,355, 34 TDs and has a QB rating of 103.7
• Manning told reporters after Sunday's win that he's not as good as he used to be

DENVER – John Fox has finally admitted it.

There was a time this season when Fox was worried about Peyton Manning's well-being.

No, it wasn't on the football field, and it had nothing to do with Manning's surgically repaired neck.

Fox recently passed through the Broncos training room to find Manning sitting in the cold tub, watching film on his team-issued iPad.

"Someone asked me if I was concerned about the iPad. No, I don't care about the iPad. I care about him," Fox said Monday. "Don't want him to get electrocuted."

In about a week, the 50 NFL writers and broadcasters will submit their ballots for Most Valuable Player, comeback player of the year and other individual awards. The Broncos have dodged talk of individual honors for weeks, but on Monday, with just one regular-season game remaining, Fox offered his very-biased endorsement of his quarterback.

Fox's logic is this: Manning has transformed the Broncos from an 8-8 team a year ago to a 12-win team with a game to play, and led Denver on a 10-game winning streak. The Broncos can clinch a first-round bye with a win in Sunday's regular-season finale against Kansas City. If Houston loses its finale at Indianapolis and Denver wins, the Broncos could also secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

"With all due respect for everybody involved, I think what's unique about Peyton, not that he's had a fabulous year—which he has—but he's done it in a new city with a new team and I think at that position, in my own personal opinion, that's what kind of separates him from the rest of the field," Fox said.

Manning has done it by putting up some of the best numbers of his career. He is completing 68.1 percent of his passes (ranks second among current starters), has passed for 4,355 yards (sixth), has 34 touchdowns (third) and only 11 interceptions, and with a season-long quarterback rating of 103.1, is poised for finish with his first 100-plus rating since 2006.

Manning told reporters after Sunday's 34-12 win against Cleveland that he's not as good as he used to be, back when he won four MVP awards while playing for the Indianapolis Colts.

"I know you guys don't believe me when I say I'm still kind of learning about myself physically and what I can do. It's still the truth, and I still have things that are harder than they used to be and things that I continue to have to work on, from a rehab standpoint to a strength standpoint," Manning said. "And that's just the way it is, and maybe that's just the way it's going to be from here on out for me."

Perhaps its self-deprecation from Manning, or a motivational tactic to help keep teammates focused with playoffs looming.

The Broncos will know before kickoff Sunday if Houston has secured the No. 1 seed, and if New England, currently in the No. 3 spot, has won or lost. Regardless of those early outcomes, Fox said Monday he doesn't expect Manning – nor any other players – to ease off.

"We talk about that a lot, not coasting, pedal downhill," Fox said.