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OAKLAND, Calif. – After playing two games in five days, the Broncos will have 10 days to rest up for their Week 15 matchup at Baltimore.

The players will have the next three days off before returning to work at Dove Valley on Monday.

“I think the guys are tired,” quarterback Peyton Manning said. “I think you use these next three days to get your mental rest, your physical rest and get kind of recharged. We’ve been on a pretty good run here, and we’ve got some guys beat up and like I said, mentally drained as well.”

Though it was tough to get back on the field so quickly after Sunday’s win against Tampa Bay, the silver lining is that now the players now have a mini bye week as they prepare for the final three games of the regular season.

“These are tough games to prepare for in a short period of time,” Manning said. “It was a physical game we were coming off of against Tampa, so I think we’ll use it well and we have a tough test going to Baltimore next week.”

With their free time this weekend, the focus will be on relaxing the players’ minds and bodies from the grueling NFL Schedule.

But, some players plan to use that time to get in their playbooks and get ahead on preparations for the Ravens.

“Coach gave us a few days off,” linebacker D.J. Williams said. “We’re going to use it to rest our bodies. Mentally, guys are going to get in the books and start getting prepared for Baltimore.”

The extra rest comes at an opportune time for the team before a pivotal game in the AFC seeding picture. 

At 10-3, the Broncos currently hold a slight lead over the 9-3 Ravens in the race for the No. 2 seed in the AFC, but a Baltimore win this weekend would make the teams even going into next week’s game.

“It’s huge,” cornerback Champ Bailey said of the timing. ”I think we’re going to need all of it to get ready for that team. That’s a good football team. We’re going to take all this time to make sure we’re ready to go up there and win.”