Brandon Allen earned his first win as an NFL starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos last Sunday against the Cleveland Browns in his first career start. Allen threw for two touchdowns in the first half and was mobile. It was certainly quite an improvement considering the Broncos had one passing touchdown in the entire month of October.
Broncos’ running back and leading rusher Phillip Lindsay joined NFL insider Ian Rapoport’s podcast, “RapSheet + Friends” to dissect Allen’s performance against the Browns.
“We were confident in him because he was confident in himself,” Lindsay explained of his new QB. “Throughout the time Brandon has been with us, he knows the terminology real well, he understands what he needs to do.”
A lot has been made the past few days regarding Allen’s mobility, something that Joe Flacco was not able to provide.
Lindsay alluded to that, saying, “We kind of felt like going into the game that we had the upper hand because he can move around a little bit and make plays on the run, which in the NFL today, that’s how you are getting your big plays made.”
Allen managed to implement a wrinkle into an offense that has not seen much, if any, mobility from the quarterback position since Tim Tebow in 2010-11. Flacco criticized the offensive game plan for being too conservative in Week 8 against the Colts, but with Allen under center in Week 9, Rich Scangarello got more aggressive and thus, provided a spark.
Furthermore, Lindsay recognized how prepared Allen would be moving forward.
“He’s known the terminology because he’s been around coaches that have run this offense, so he came in more confident and he was just smooth with the play-calling and smooth in the huddle.”
While his numbers weren’t eye-popping, Allen was in complete control while going 12-of-20 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran five times for 13 yards and completed a beautiful pass to Noah Fant on a roll-out to his right.
This year, the NFL has seen mobile quarterbacks have success, even though they might not be the most polished of passers. For example, the Baltimore Ravens under Lamar Jackson and the Buffalo Bills under Josh Allen are both owners of 6-2 records. It goes to show that the ability to escape the pocket and make plays with your legs can translate into success in the modern game.
Denver’s plan is to give Drew Lock the final two starts of the regular season, but they will ride with Allen up until that point. So in that case, Allen figures to start five more games, four of which are on the road.
Allen and the Broncos are on a bye this week, but will travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings on Sunday, November 17.