Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase has said that the team must stop opponents from hitting Peyton Manning.

The quarterback, who missed practice with an ankle injury earlier this week, was sacked four times and threw an interception during the AFC West side's 39-33 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday.

Gase told reporters: "He was good. He was his normal self. We probably should have [run] the ball a little more, I did a poor job of that. Tried to help out our front guys probably a couple of protection things I would have changed going into that game.

"But [Colts linebacker] Robert Mathis is a good player. I've seen him play for a long time. What he did, it's not surprising. We probably should have done a better job helping out our tackles.

"There's things we can do whether it's with our backs, tight ends, our personnel groups, play calling, there's a lot of things we can do to help him out and that's what we're going to do moving forward."

The Broncos face the Washington Redskins this weekend.