As Osweiler, Lynch wait, how long is Siemian’s leash with Broncos?
Sep 27, 2017, 12:00 AM | Updated: 8:31 am
Through the first two weeks of the Denver Broncos regular season, Trevor Siemian graded near or among the top quarterbacks in the NFL, including leading the league with six touchdown passes.
But on Sunday, on the road against the Buffalo Bills, Siemian regressed to the mean a bit, completing only 24 of 40 passes (60 percent) for 259 yards, zero touchdowns, and two costly interceptions.
After the game, Siemian said he was disappointed in the two picks — both in the second half, one from Denver’s own 12-yard line in the third quarter and another in the fourth as the offense was driving at the Buffalo 24-yard line.
“I can’t do that, at home or on the road. The two turnovers, obviously, they hurt you,” Siemian said. “You never know what happens. The defense bailed us out one time. I felt good about getting points there if I don’t turn it over. Got to clean that up.”
On Monday, head coach Vance Joseph said, “Moving forward, he’ll play better from this.
But could Siemian survive another poor game, at home Sunday against Denver’s vaunted rivals the Oakland Raiders?
“The implicit warning, not only to the Broncos but to Siemian, is we’ll give you a mulligan for Sunday,” said 104.3 The Fan’s Sandy Clough on Tuesday. “But if you play like that against the Raiders, you’re going to start hearing calls … for Brock Osweiler to be warming up in the bullpen and set to go with the advantage of having the bye week to get ready for the Broncos fifth game against the Giants on Oct. 15.”
“Schlereth & Evans” co-host Mike Evans went as far as to ask the question on Tuesday, “At what point is Trevor Siemian playing for his job?”
Evans said his belief is Siemian is “almost week-to-week with his job,” and that both backup quarterbacks — former starter Brock Osweiler and injured first-rounder Paxton Lynch — are favorites of general manager John Elway.
“I’m telling you, Brock Osweiler’s waiting in the wings. Paxton Lynch will be healthy at some point. These are both guys who are Elway guys,” Evans said. “Brock Osweiler was ‘Plan A’ to replace Peyton Manning all along. It got sideways with the whole Texans thing, but he’s back here now. And there’s a lot of believers of Brock — B.O.B.s — still in that building.”
