DAVIE, Fla. -- Brock Osweiler waited 58 games for the three hours of adrenaline he felt on Sunday.

Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase was a vital part of the Denver Broncos staff that drafted Osweiler to be their eventual franchise quarterback -- whenever Peyton Manning decided to retire.

Osweiler watched as Gase schemed up an offense that allowed Manning to break NFL records. He privately wished he could be in that spot, but he knew the situation. He had a Hall of Famer in front of him and he had to wait his turn.

“A lot of waiting,” Osweiler said. “I heard a lot of playcalls come in through that earpiece that weren’t coming in for me.”

Gase added: “He never worried about it. He just kept working. He knew what the deal was. He knew that any year could be the year. My last two years in Denver, both seasons when they ended, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with what [Manning] was going to do, if he was done or if he was coming back another year. We were all in the same boat. We stayed present and we knew what it was at the time. Then something changed and we would adjust.”

That moment never quite came for Osweiler in Denver.

Gase left Denver after the 2014 season, joining John Fox in Chicago as his offensive coordinator. Manning played longer than many anticipated and came back in 2015 for what would become his farewell, Super Bowl-winning season. Osweiler, then in his fourth season, was still the backup, waiting.

Last Sunday, 6½ years after Gase helped bring Osweiler to Denver, Gase finally got to call a game that mattered for Osweiler. And what a game he called -- leading the Dolphins to a season-high 541 total yards, a career-high 380 passing yards for Osweiler and a 31-28 overtime win over the Chicago Bears, a team with a defense ranked among the best in the NFL.

“To go out there and finally be the guy pulling the trigger, it was a very special day. ... It’s something that I’ve been wanting for a lot of years,” Osweiler said. “I believe in Coach Gase and his system and who he is as a person and a coach. I saw that firsthand for a lot of years in Denver. I saw what it’s like to be able to play quarterback for a coach like that. As a quarterback, that’s the guy you want to play for.”

It’s "Brocktober," and with Ryan Tannehill out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, the time is now for Osweiler and Gase to make up for lost time, starting Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

Brock Osweiler watched Peyton Manning -- a lot -- in Denver. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Sparse opportunities

There’s a popular gif that encapsulates Osweiler’s time in Denver. It was late in the third quarter of a 2014 game against the Raiders. The Broncos (6-2 at the time) were up 41-10 on the 0-8 Raiders with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. Osweiler got the call to go in for mop-up duty.

Excitedly, Osweiler runs to the back bench area where he puts his hat and headset down, grabs his helmet and runs toward the field before seeing Manning jogging out there for another series. He throws his hand up in frustration.

It’s a blowout, and he still has to wait. He remembers it vividly.

“That was a funny game; that was a funny year,” Osweiler said.

Gase added: "It didn’t matter if we were winning by 50 -- [Manning] wasn’t coming out. He did that enough in Indy where he didn’t play the fourth quarter. He’d like to play. Unless there was two minutes left and we’re up by 35, then he wasn’t coming out. [Brock] had to watch a lot.”

Funny enough, Manning was on the sidelines for Sunday’s Bears-Dolphins game in Miami. He was a guest of Gase and Dolphins senior assistant Clyde Christensen.

Manning spoke with Osweiler in the Dolphins' locker room before and after Sunday’s game. They also spoke on Monday. Despite the waiting period, Osweiler and Manning have a strong relationship and plenty of respect for each other.

"Brock used these past four years to improve as a player. He's an extremely hard worker and I know he's excited to be a full-time starter,” Manning told reporters in 2016 after Osweiler signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Houston Texans. “He's certainly earned that opportunity."

Osweiler soaked it all in playing behind Manning, from the volume and intensity of calling signals at the line to how to deal with the media. But the biggest lesson he learned from Manning was preparation, something that helped him Sunday.

“It didn’t matter whether it was April, June, the middle of August, October -- how every single minute in the day matters. How you go about your business matters and it’s going to rub off on your teammates, it’s going to rub off on your coaches,” Osweiler said. “How to set a standard and hold people to it. Something that we say a lot in the offensive room is standard over feelings. ... You’re not always going to be somebody’s best friend, but if you’re all working toward the same common goal of winning, there’s a respect there. That’s something he definitely taught me.”

"He's been the same guy since I've known him. He's very confident in this offense. He really knows this offense very well. I guess when you know the offense and you can get out there and play fast, it gives you all the confidence you need."

Just call it 'Broctoberfest'

Of all the puns, Brocktober is Osweiler’s favorite. Osweiler isn't on social media, but his teammates, family and friends have shared many of the "Brock" name puns that have run rampant in the past week since he replaced the injured Tannehill.

It’s a light element of football that is fun only when you’re winning. The Dolphins are 4-2, firmly in the AFC playoff picture, with the hopes of keeping things together hanging on the arm of a quarterback who was released by the QB-starved Cleveland Browns last September.

If everything went right for the Dolphins, Osweiler was never supposed to be in this spot. Ideally, backups never need to play. But Tannehill’s shoulder injury could keep him out through October, so the Dolphins will need to ride Osweiler.

But because of the Gase-Osweiler connection, there’s a confidence that things are going to be all right.

“Brock will be good with this. He’s a veteran who knows exactly what to do. We really like Ryan, but we feel we will be good with Brock,” running back Frank Gore said. “He and Gase are tight. You can see that chemistry they have from their Denver days. You can tell on the practice field.”

Osweiler’s poise is apparent from the jump. He doesn’t interact like a typical backup quarterback. Through all the adversity, Osweiler is convinced he’s better than what the public perceives him to be.

“My confidence will never waver,” Osweiler said. “Sometimes you’re going to throw interceptions. How do you bounce back?”

Osweiler rebounded from back-to-back interceptions against Chicago to lead multiple game-tying drives and the game winner.

His teammates rallied around him, and he made just enough plays to get it done.

“He’s been the same guy since I’ve known him,” Gase said. “He’s very confident in this offense. He really knows this offense very well. I guess when you know the offense and you can get out there and play fast, it gives you all the confidence you need."

Gase came up with a great plan to have Osweiler get the ball to his playmakers and quickly go through his reads. The game plan flowed naturally, even though Osweiler didn't get the official notice he was starting until Sunday morning.

“There were times where he’s sitting there looking at his sheet and in my head I’m like, ‘I think he’s going to call this play.’ Sure enough, three seconds later, that play comes in,” Osweiler said. “We were definitely on the same page and that made it a lot of fun.”

Miami fans hope Brocktober is more than just a one-day holiday.