His head shook. His eyes bulged. Blood boiled to just below his Broncos cap.

Adam Gase, the Broncos' offensive coordinator, was asked this week if, essentially, Peyton Manning stinks in cold weather.

"I've only been around him two years, but the thing that probably (ticks) me off more than anything is the fact that I don't want anybody else as my quarterback," Gase said. "I'm going to go in with him every Sunday, and it's a great feeling to have. When you don't have a guy like that — and I've been in that spot a lot — it (stinks) when you know you walk in there and you don't have a shot. So I'll take him any day of the week."

All this hot-air chatter about how Manning can't play in the cold is getting reckless. Since he joined the Broncos, Manning has played in three cold-weather games when the temperature was 35 degrees or lower: the 2012 regular-season finale against Kansas City, the 2012 playoff game in January against Baltimore and the game two weeks ago at New England.

These are the only cold-weather games in Manning's career when he has worn The Glove on his right throwing hand.

Here's how Manning and The Glove have fared in those three cold-weather games:

1. Kansas City (35 degrees): 23-of-29, 304 yards, three touchdown passes, no interceptions, 144.8 passer rating.

2. Baltimore (13 degrees): 28-of-43, 290 yards, three TDs, two picks, 88.3 rating.

3. New England (22 degrees, 22 mph wind): 19-of-36, 150 yards, two TDs, one INT, 70.4 rating.

Three-game cold-weather totals: 70-of-108 (64.8 completion percentage), eight touchdown passes, three interceptions, 97.9 rating.

True, Manning's numbers are better in games when the temperature is above 35 degrees. But help me out here. Since when do eight touchdown passes against three interceptions and a 97.9 rating suggest a guy can't play in the cold?

A 97.9 rating would rank No. 8 overall, good weather or bad, in the NFL quarterback rankings this year. Maybe what causes Manning's cold-weather rap is his NFL-best 119.0 rating this year when the temperature isn't noted.

Manning will play his fourth cold-weather game for the Broncos on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. It's supposed to be 16 degrees at kickoff at Sports Authority Field at Mile High but with little wind.

It was the gust in New England, not the cold, that caused Gase to employ a ball-carrying game plan that resulted in 280 yards rushing and Manning's only sub-200-yard passing game with the Broncos.

"For the most part, the cold is not an issue for us in the passing game," Gase said. "It's anytime you get a condition of wind, that's when I see that it's hard for the passing."

Fair or not, there will be intense scrutiny on Manning's performance Sunday against the cold. Not against the Titans, but the cold.

The perception of Manning's cold-weather performances may lack substantiation. But it's a perception, nonetheless. On a day when there will be chattering of teeth, Manning will have another chance to alter the chatter.

Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis