Following up on the ongoing story. ... Peyton Manning was back at practice for the Denver Broncos on Thursday, listed as 'limited' on the injury report but looking more and more like a sure thing to play Sunday.

'He practiced a good bit and looked like he was doing the things he needs to do for us,' interim head coach Jack Del Rio said.

Manning missed practice Wednesday to get more treatment on the right ankle he aggravated when Chargers defensive lineman Corey Liuget dove at the quarterback's lower legs toward the end of last Sunday's game.

Both Del Rio and Manning have insisted Manning will play Sunday when the Broncos (8-1) host the Chiefs (9-0) with first place in the AFC West on the line.

On Wednesday, Manning said sitting out of practice was not his preference but something he had to do in the best interest of the team. Del Rio agreed with that view.

'He did the smart thing, did a little extra time yesterday and continues to do his thing with preparation,' Del Rio said. 'He's tremendous with that and it's well-documented. Good player who's back at practice and is getting ready to play a good team.'

Offensive coordinator Adam Gase said Manning missing a Wednesday practice - the way many veterans do, especially later in the season - wouldn't affect Denver's preparation.

'When you have Peyton back there, he knows this offense in and out,' Gase said. 'Him running one more rep of a play he's run 4,000 times, that's really not going to make the difference of what we're doing. The big day is today and tomorrow, making sure that Saturday we're nice and clean going into the game.'

Meanwhile, Manning's absence gave backup Brock Osweiler a chance to get reps with the first team.

'Those are huge for him,' Gase said. 'The only thing that could be better for him is if he's ever in a game and hopefully we can hold that tenure for a while.'

Manning has often spoken of the high volume of repetitions required to achieve proper timing with his receivers. But his pass-catchers feel that the work needed for this has already been done, and they can afford to be without him in practice.

"Early on in training camp and preseason games is when you find kind of your rhythm and you put all of your base packages in where you get that timing down," said wide receiver Eric Decker. "Now it's about watching film, it's about executing things right. I think a lot of things take care of themselves. You still want to get some throws in and get some work in throughout the week but a lot of that is taken care of physically -- and mentally is the big part of it."

"We've been with him long enough -- he knows what's going on, we know what's going on with him. The timing is always going to be there," said Demaryius Thomas. "I feel like it's going to be all right; we're going to be all right."

But as the Sports Xchange suggests, what might not be all right is Manning -- at least as long as he struggles with the ankle woes that could leave him a sitting target for opposing pass rushers.

Exacerbating the situation are the issues at the offensive tackle spots: left tackle Ryan Clady is out for the season with a Lisfranc injury, and right tackle Orlando Franklin has been battling a sprained ankle of his own that he suffered in the third quarter against Jacksonville on Oct. 13.

Prior to Franklin's injury, Manning fumbled once every 117 touches (pass plays plus runs, not including kneel downs). Since then, he's fumbled more than three times as often: once every 38.25 touches. With Manning averaging 43 touches per game, that means the Broncos have to prepare for one fumble a week. Manning's interception rate has also increased since Franklin was injured, from one every 115.5 pass plays to one every 37.75.

Thus, the Chiefs have incentive to attack -- and try to hit Manning in a sore spot. But Del Rio isn't any more concerned about low hits on Manning than he would be any other week.

"We're playing football. People are going to get hit," he said. "We do as good a job as anybody out there in terms of protecting our guy. It's important to us. We'll continue to do that."

And protecting Manning is one reason why he did not practice Wednesday, which led to an inevitable question: could the Broncos opt to sideline him for every practice, and just plug him in on Sundays?

"I probably feel like I could do it, but it kind of goes against what I believe in," Manning said. "I believe in practice, I believe there is a reason for it. So it's certainly my preference to be out there, but at the same time I'm trying to do what's best for the team and in order for me to get healthy."