Hurry, hurry has a whole new meaning now for Peyton Manning. The master of the two-minute drill is facing the toughest race against the clock in football.

For the first time since Manning joined the Broncos in 2012, it was possible to imagine the Broncos without him during a 24-17 victory against Buffalo on Sunday.

The road to the Super Bowl has taken a strange, unexpected twist. Along the way, Denver decided it no longer could be a team that depended too much on Manning.

But here’s the real shocker: What if that decision was not a choice? What if it was a necessity? The 38-year-old shoulders of Manning can no longer be counted on to carry Denver.

“I hope fans will still keep coming to the game,” Manning joked Sunday, after the Broncos ran the football on 29 snaps, while their quarterback threw it only 20 times in a blue-collar victory against the Bills. The franchise’s business executives, Manning added, “will be disappointed if fans stop coming because we’re not throwing it as much.”

This is a period of transition for Manning and the Broncos. The team has discovered how to win without him being a Hall of Fame quarterback, because the veteran wearing No. 18 no longer is guaranteed to play like one.

Father Time is a sneaky son of a gun. Mortality doesn’t smack a man down with the wham-bam force of a blindside blitz. The aging process slides in the back door, and plays tricks with a quarterback’s mind, legs and arm.

Forget that Manning’s streak of 51 consecutive games with a touchdown pass came to an end against Buffalo. That was as much the result of leaning on running back C.J. Anderson in the red zone, because the Denver offense was a patchwork orange, hobbled by injuries to receiver Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas.

What allowed you to envision life after Manning was a wobbly first-half interception on a throw that cut a beautiful arc toward a blue December sky, then began to sputter, flutter and run out of oomph a yard short of intended target Emmanuel Sanders. The pass was dead on arrival in the hands of Buffalo cornerback Corey Graham.

Here’s the deal about being 38 years old. Greatness still resides within Manning. No doubt. It’s just tougher for him to summon that greatness on a regular basis. For Manning, whose career passer rating is a stellar 97.8, here are his marks during his most recent six games: 80.9, 111.9, 75.3, 135.4, 85.3, 56.9. Genius gone perfectly inconsistent.

When the veteran quarterback chucked 54 passes during a Nov. 16 loss in St. Louis, I winced, praying Manning would not get sucked in the undertow of the pass rush, because he looked like an old ship captain leaning into the teeth of a fierce storm.

The skills of Manning — from his mind-blowing ESP at the line of scrimmage to his laser-precise accuracy — are timeless. But on the way to Canton, Ohio, even a great quarterback grows old.

The soundtrack every time Manning takes the field should be the defiant lyrics of country singer Toby Keith: “I ain’t as good as I once was. That’s just the cold, hard truth. I still throw a few back, talk a little smack, when I’m feelin’ bullet proof. So don’t double-dog dare me now, ’cause I’d have to call your bluff.”

On a recent autumn afternoon, Manning stepped down from the podium after his mid-week news conference, and I asked him if there was anybody he competed against in college who was still playing in the NFL.

Manning pondered, searching every file in his encyclopedic memory, and mused: “I’m not sure. Not sure there is anybody.”

Well, I replied, being the ultimate survivor in a violent sport might be the ultimate compliment. That’s worthy of a medal.

“A medal?” said Manning, shaking his head and showing a wry smile. “Don’t know if I agree with you on that.”

What a drag it is …

On the road to the Super Bowl, the No. 1 foe for Manning isn’t Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck or a wicked winter wind in New England or the bite of Seattle loudmouth Richard Sherman.

The ultimate test will pit the beautiful mind of Manning vs. ornery old Father Time.

In this equation, X always wins. It will be fascinating to see if Manning finds a Y and a way to get a ring before his time expires.

Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or twitter.com/markkiszla