Having a touchdown pass streak snapped is no big deal, especially in victory.

But did it have to end so close to the record?

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had thrown a touchdown pass in 51 consecutive games entering Sunday. The NFL record is 54, set by Drew Brees. Tom Brady had a 52-game touchdown pass streak.

Manning’s streak ended in a 24-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills. C.J. Anderson finished off Denver’s three touchdown drives on running plays.

“I’ve broken a lot of records, and set a lot of records — I’ve been playing for a long time and played well at times — it’s never been something that I’ve been about,” Manning said. “I don’t think it was important to set another record. It was important to get another win, and C.J. did a good job down there in the red zone.”

Julius misses third game. All that drama, and for what? The Broncos had to turn in their inactive list at 12:35 p.m. Sunday. At 12:23 p.m., tight end Julius Thomas was on the field talking to offensive coordinator Adam Gase and tight ends coach Clancy Barone.

Thomas ran one post pattern — and did so pretty well. It was decided that he would dress for the game against the Bills.

But after all that deadline stress, Thomas never came close to playing. He watched the game on the sideline. He didn’t even bother to wear his helmet.

“He got a week better,” said Broncos coach John Fox. “He’s healing. He was close. We went with having him active but not (with the) intention of playing him. If we needed him, he could have played.”

Thomas, who caught 12 touchdown passes in his first nine games, has missed the past three with a sprained left ankle suffered early in the Broncos’ game at St. Louis on Nov. 16.

Kicking duo. Connor Barth remained perfect on field goals with Denver, converting from 50 yards in his lone attempt. Barth is 6-of-6 on field-goal attempts.

Brandon McManus returned to the Broncos’ roster and produced touchbacks on four of five kickoffs.

Corner kid. Bradley Roby, in his last game at Ohio State, received criticism for not playing in the Orange Bowl opposite Clemson’s Sammy Watkins because of a leg injury. Roby faced the rookie star Sunday and capitalized. After Watkins beat him on a slant route, Roby stripped Watkins on the Bills’ first possession. Roby has four takeaways (two interceptions and two fumble recoveries) this season.

Bruton steps up. Denver’s David Bruton, whose audible to a fake punt fueled a victory over the Chiefs, played a bigger role Sunday. Quinton Carter landed on the inactive list with a knee injury after limited participation in practice Friday. Bruton stepped in, playing safety in nickel coverage and tied with Roby and Brandon Marshall for a team-high nine tackles.

“I am always ready,” Bruton said. “It’s about being a pro. I have been in this league for six years for a reason. It’s about taking advantage of an opportunity.”

He showed good coverage skills and speed in his first extended duty. He thought he had a 100-yard interception return, but it was correctly ruled a short hop.

“You made me run all the way down the field,” defensive end Malik Jackson joked.

Footnotes. Defensive end Derek Wolfe, one of Denver’s most consistent run stuffers, left Sunday’s game in the first quarter with a head injury after colliding with safety T.J. Ward on a tackle. He was evaluated for a concussion but was cleared and returned before halftime. … Louis Vas- quez and Orlando Franklin missed a few plays with injuries but returned to the game. … Extra tackle Paul Cornick, used in the run game, left with a sprained toe late in the fourth quarter.