“How was your weekend?”
“When did you shoot that new Nationwide commercial with the Christmas lights?”
“How is your foot feeling?”
Any of those three questions would be a good opener for Gary Kubiak this morning when he makes the Broncos version of a booty call. Or perhaps Denver’s head coach prefers the more direct approach, choosing to bypass the small talk when both parties clearly know what’s going on.
Either way, it’s time for the head coach to reach out and touch someone.
The Brock Osweiler experiment was fun while it lasted. But in the end, Denver’s love affair with the young, dashing quarterback needs to be nothing more than a short-term fling.
It’s time to get back to reality, let bygones be bygones, and reconcile with Peyton Manning. That’s the only way the Broncos are going to maximize their current situation.
At 10-2, Denver is in a three-way tie for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. With a win over the Patriots already in hand, thanks to a magical second week during the Osweiler affair, the Broncos hold the tiebreaker over the defending Super Bowl champions. And with a showdown looming on Dec. 28 with the Bengals at Sports Authority Field, there’s a very real possibility that the road to Super Bowl 50 will run through Denver.
But that’s not going to happen if the team continues its infatuation with Osweiler. He’s not a quarterback that can carry the Broncos to great heights.
Yes, he’s 3-0 since taking over as the starter. And granted, he led a terrific comeback win over New England just eight days ago. But yesterday, in a 17-3 victory over the Chargers, Osweiler demonstrated that he’s nothing more than a stopgap until Manning returns.
The day certainly started off well. On their opening drive, which featured a beautiful mix of pre-scripted runs and passes, the Broncos marched 76 yards in eight plays to put seven points on the scoreboard before a lot of people had found their seats at Qualcomm Stadium. Just 3:45 into the first quarter, Denver led San Diego 7-0.
In the ensuing 56:15, however, Denver managed only three more points on offense, sputtering their way through an ugly performance that did little more than cause the Mile High City to nod off for one collective nap. By day’s end, the Broncos drive chart was a mess.
Punt. Punt. Field goal. End of half. Missed field goal. Interception. Punt. Punt. Punt. End of game.
That’s an anemic performance, one that would be expected out of a team circling the drain, not one primed to make a run for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. And it was against a Chargers defense that had given up an average of 29.2 points in their previous seven games.
Thankfully, the other side of the football was able to carry the Broncos on Sunday, holding Philip Rivers and Company to just three points and putting seven on the scoreboard themselves via a Danny Trevathan pick-six. Otherwise, Denver would have seen a golden opportunity to take control of their playoff destiny slip away.
And that should be alarming. Yesterday’s game should cause sirens to go off at Dove Valley. Warning signs should be flashing at the Broncos facility, alerting everyone that trouble is ahead.
As a result, it’s time for Denver to alter its course. They survived for three weeks without their marquee quarterback; trying to extend the streak would be pushing their luck.
The Broncos were able to not only able to get through three weeks without Manning in the lineup, allowing their future Hall of Fame quarterback to get healthy, but they were actually able to improve their playoff position during his absence. They need to accept their gift, say thank you and get back to normalcy.
Despite what plenty of people in Denver want to think, where Osweiler has been anointed as the next great quarterback, that doesn’t mean sticking with a signal caller who has three career starts on his résumé. The numbers explain why.
During his trio of games in relief of Manning, Osweiler has completed 59 of 95 passes, for 686 yards and four touchdowns; that’s an average of less than 20 completions per game, for under 230 yards per outing. The QB has also been intercepted twice and sacked nine times.
It may not be popular to say in the Mile High City, where Brock Mania has taken over and clouded the view of those watching the young signal caller, but that’s not going to regularly get it done against top-flight opponents. Neither is putting up an average of 19 points per game. In the long run, those types of anemic numbers are going to get a team beat more often than not, especially in the playoffs.
Of course, there is an argument that Osweiler will improve with time. But that’s a gamble the Broncos can’t afford to take, not with so much at stake this season. In addition, there’s no real evidence to suggest that it’s a worthwhile risk; yesterday, with two games worth of film to study, the Chargers were able to hold the quarterback to just 166 passing yards and 10 measly points.
That negative trend doesn’t figure to reverse itself. San Diego showed that the book is out on Osweiler; by taking away Denver’s bootleg game and completely eliminating all big-play capabilities, John Pagano’s much-maligned defense stymied the young quarterback. The remaining teams on the Broncos schedule will surely utilize the same strategy.
And that will continue what has become a dismal pattern. During Osweiler’s 36 drives since being named the Broncos starter, the team has punted 20 times; that’s a whopping 55 percent of possessions ending with Britton Colquitt kicking the ball away. Conversely, Manning-engineered drives only resulted in punts at a 45.6 percent clip.
For the time being, that’s okay; given Denver’s very good defense, that conservative style of play has allowed them to win games. But the bubble is about to burst; scoring 10 points isn’t going to get the job done on most days.
That’s why it’s imperative to get Manning back. There’s little doubt that No. 18 makes the Broncos offense much more explosive; even during his struggles earlier in the season, nearly one-third of his drives ended in points. And if he can eliminate the interceptions that plagued him during the first nine games of the season, the one thing that Osweiler has done well the past three weeks, he’s clearly the better option at quarterback.
A great offense and a great defense would be an unbeatable combination. If Manning is healthy, which would allow him to eliminate the mistakes that plagued him through nine games this season, his 18-year track record proves that he has the best chance of making that happen.
Winning tends to make people ignore a team’s faults. But yesterday’s victory shouldn’t obscure what has become a very troubling trend on offense: Denver is having trouble scoring points. Aside from the fourth quarter and overtime against New England, the Broncos have managed just 34 points in the other 11 quarters with Osweiler at the helm; that’s a large enough sample size to cause concern. The poor play is a pattern, while the good performance was an aberration.
And it’s also enough for Gary Kubiak to know it’s time to pick up the phone. The past three weeks have been fun and a trio of wins with a backup quarterback in the lineup was a pleasant surprise. But it’s time to kiss and make up with Peyton Manning.
It’s time for the Broncos to make a booty call.