Gary Kubiak and Peyton Manning went through several tense moments before his return during Week 17.

Kubiak said that, when he told Peyton Manning after a rough home loss to the Chiefs in November that he’d be pulled from the lineup while his injured foot heals, Peyton “was not real happy with that.”

Manning kept insisting he wanted to play but tried to do so without becoming a distraction.

Manning began conducting private workouts that were filmed and later reviewed by Kubiak.

“During the workout, he sent me a signal,” Kubiak said. “To the film. ‘Hey, we’re Number One.’ You can take it that way. I took it as, ‘I’m ready to play.'”

Kubiak admitted that Manning’s efforts after he returned were “the difference in how we ended up as a football team.”