Pritchard: Broncos shouldn’t take the ball out of Siemian’s hands

After five games of its 2017 season, the general consensus gives the Denver Broncos just one option for offensive success: run the football.

Training camp for the Broncos started with a quarterback competition between Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch. But after an angry performance in the third preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, Siemian forced the Denver coaching staff to name him the starter.

And Siemian started the 2017 campaign on fire with solid performances against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys. The third-year quarterback started quickly becoming an amazing rags-to-riches story.

But during Denver’s first road contest against the Buffalo Bills, it all started to fall apart.

Siemian made uncharacteristic mistakes, and the Broncos offense started to sputter.

In consecutive weeks following this subpar performance, the Broncos’ offense scored just 16 points in a win over the Oakland Raiders and 10 points in a loss to the poorly-performing New York Giants.  

So what has happened?

Some say that the Broncos abandoned the running game for the sake of having an explosive offense. Others, that Siemian has limited ability.

So how did Siemian win the quarterback job? Did he hand off the ball perfectly during the preseason?

While I agree that the Broncos need to run the football, I disagree that they should take the ball out of the hand of their quarterback.

If Siemian is to be the quarterback for the entire 2017 season, then there is only one solution: The Broncos need to give him the chance to get better.

Is there pressure on Siemian?  Absolutely. Will Siemian make mistakes? Absolutely. But if you’re the Broncos, you have to live with the mistakes and suspect play at times.

Denver cannot afford to play with only half the playbook. If Siemian’s limited as a player, the coaches did not get their evaluation right when it came to who won the job in training camp.

The Broncos should not be afraid to make a change. This is a high-performance business with a lot on the line. Jobs and championships are at opposite ends, but as a professional athlete or coach, you understand what’s at stake.

It’s not the time to hide behind a running game.

The Broncos need to trust their initial decision … and that their quarterback for 2017 will get better.