Denver Broncos: Brock Osweiler showing poise as starting QB
Nov 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) passes the football in the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
How exciting has the Denver Broncos offense become with Brock Osweiler taking over as the starting quarterback for an injured and struggling Peyton Manning the past two games?
I believe the Denver offense is playing their best football with the 25-year-old Osweiler as the starting quarterback, and he’s earned the praise for the poise he’s showing thus far with wins against the Chicago Bears and this past Sunday night against the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
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Osweiler led a nearly end-of-regulation touchdown drive, ending it with a 3-yard touchdown pass to, of all players, Bubba Caldwell with just 1:09 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, which put the Broncos in the lead. Though the Patriots were able to force overtime, Osweiler didn’t make any mistakes in overtime and let his offensive line and running backs seal the deal with the game-winning score.
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In the win over Denver on Sunday Night Football, Osweiler was 23-of-42 for 270 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. The previous start against the Bears, he was 20-of-27 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Even with all the praise and the poise he’s shown thus far in replacing Manning as the Broncos’ starting quarterback, Osweiler needs to learn to get rid of the football faster or just simply throw away the football if there isn’t an open receiver.
In the past three weeks (he took over mid-game for Manning in Week 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs), Osweiler has been sacked a total of 11 times, and he was getting hit very hard at times against the Patriots, sometimes due to his handling of the football too long and other times due to a couple confusing blocking schemes for Denver that didn’t work out so well.
I’m not the only person who is on the Osweiler bandwagon (I mean, I have had him stashed on my dynasty fantasy football roster all season), but Kevin Patra of NFL.com wrote this about the up-and-coming quarterback:
"“Given than his No. 1 receiver didn’t help him out until the final drive of the fourth quarter (Demaryius Thomas: one catch on 12 targets), it’s a wonder Osweiler played as well as he did. …While it’s not a shock for a quarterback to make a check, it does speak to Osweiler’s ability to run the offense. Not all quarterbacks in their second start are given the liberty to make checks. He also displayed the smarts to get his team in the correct play to set up a score.”"
It isn’t like Osweiler was Tom Brady on Sunday, but his play did help defeat a depleted Patriots team that had Brady opposing him, and it is fun to see and hear that in just his second start, the Denver coaching staff has the confidence in Osweiler to allow him to make the checks like he does.
I’m not saying Osweiler will stay the starting quarterback this season when Manning is healthy, but that isn’t out of the realm of possibility. I do like the fact that he’s showing he’s capable of becoming a solid starting quarterback in this league after sitting and learning from Manning in what is his fourth season in the NFL.
If there is one player who could teach Osweiler how to be a good pro quarterback, it has to be Manning, and even though Manning wants to continue to keep playing past this season, he has been helping out Osweiler in preparing for these starts. From what I’ve watched, that work has shown, and it is paying off.
Plus, with Denver now showing a resemblance of a rushing attack once again (C.J. Anderson had over 100 yards vs. New England), the Broncos could be an exciting team to watch on offense again. If that is the case, maybe Osweiler should stay the starter for the remainder of the season, because why break the momentum that has been gained in just the past two weeks?
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Next is a game at the San Diego Chargers for the Broncos, so with basically three weeks’ worth of film on him now, it will be very intriguing to see how Osweiler responds to what the Chargers throw at him this upcoming Sunday.