Klatt: ‘Expectation level’ means Broncos QB Siemian is playing ‘fantastic’

Sunday’s outing against the San Diego Chargers was arguably the worst for Denver Broncos second-year quarterback Trevor Siemian.

Siemian completed just 52.63 percent of his passes, the lowest mark of his season, did not throw for a touchdown, gave up a pick six and earned a quarterback rating of 65.2, also his 2016 low mark.

But given that Siemian had never thrown a regular season pass in the NFL before the start of the 2016 campaign and was presumed to be veteran Mark Sanchez’s backup until he won the job in the preseason, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt said Siemian’s played “fantastic” in terms of realistic expectations for this season.

“I mean, what expectation level did you guys have for a kid who was slated to be the third quarterback coming into the season? This is a guy who’s played way above what I expected him to play,” Klatt told 104.3 The Fan’s “Schlereth and Evans” on Wednesday.

“I think, Denver fans, if you would have pointed to this record and the way that he’s played though this amount of games in the season in preseason, you would say, ‘Man, that would be great. I’ll take it and run.’”

Klatt’s comments come just a few days after Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said some of Siemian’s decision making against the Chargers was “not as good as it’s been” earlier in the season.

“Schlereth and Evans” co-host and ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth said Tuesday that Kubiak’s remarks indicate the head coach was taking the “kids gloves” off when it comes to the young gunslinger.

“Now, the coach has to hold him to a higher standard, so I certainly understand why Kubiak is holding him to that standard,” Klatt said of Kubiak’s comments. “But I will say this, he’s accurate with the ball, he throws on time, he gives them a great chance to win, and in general he protects the ball better than most young players do in their first opportunity to start at the quarterback position in the National Football League.”

Siemian’s had middling statistical outputs through his first seven NFL starts — he ranks 24th in QBR, 29th in passing yards per game, 21st in interceptions thrown, etc. — but the expectations were not for him to be an MVP, Klatt said.

“I think life is all about expectation management,” Klatt said. “If we’re expecting him to come out here and be the MVP or the best quarterback in the division, then he’s not playing great. But for Trevor Siemian, he is playing great.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.