0-3 and onto quarterback No. 3 for the Broncos.
It’s been anything but an ideal start for Denver; the team in orange has the blues.
Injuries, of course, are just a part of football. We all understand that. But, has there ever been a season in which the Broncos have seen more key starters injured so early?
First, Von Miller was lost for the season just before it all kicked off. Then, in Week 1, the Broncos lost blossoming star wide receiver Courtland Sutton. In Week 2 it was quarterback Drew Lock, and now there are nine starters on the Injured Reserve, and others, like Lock, who are too hurt to play.
Speaking of Lock, he was the focal point this offseason for fans. For a team and a fanbase desperate for strong quarterback play, Lock was hopefully going to be “the guy” moving forward.
The future of the franchise was injured — just like he was last year — when a rushing defender came after him, he ran, but was tripped up and landed on his throwing arm. Not even five quarters into the season and the most vital part of the offense was lost.
In stepped Jeff Driskel, an offseason signing as merely a backup and nothing more. Driskel wasn’t awful in Week 2, but when he had a chance to win the game late, held onto the ball too long and the contest was quickly over.
Week 3, a third straight loss, this time at the hands of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was highlighted by Shaquil Barrett’s sacks.
Driskel was under constant duress, just as Lock was, and in total the Broncos’ offensive line has given up 12 sacks already this season. And now, Elijah Wilkinson has been placed on the IR, so Denver will rely on offseason signing Demar Dotson to fill in at right tackle. Expect the pressure cooker to continue in Denver’s pocket.
After starting 0-3, Vic Fangio and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur could’ve continued with Driskel, whose stats weren’t bad (35-64 for 432 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT, 78.4 QB rating) but they haven’t been great, either.
So, they smartly made the change to Brett Rypien, who was a sensational college quarterback.
In fact, Rypien was destined to play for the Broncos. Why? In college he played for the Boise State Broncos, cementing himself as the greatest quarterback in the history of the Mountain West Conference.
His senior year was superb. Rypien — the nephew of former Super Bowl winning QB Mark Rypien — set MW records as the all-time leader in career passing yards (13,581), completions (1,036) and 300-yard games (21). The Broncos of Boise State weren’t just consistently the most prolific offense in the Mountain West, but one of the best in the entire country with Rypien at QB.
During his senior season, Boise State was ranked 20th in scoring (36.4 points per game) and Rypien was a major reason why. He was incredibly accurate (67.3 completion percentage) while he lit up defenses for 30 touchdowns compared to only seven interceptions.
While this isn’t the most ideal situation to earn a first start in the NFL, Rypien is going to make the best of it, and he knows he’s ready to lead the Denver Broncos tonight.
“I’ve played this position for a long time,” Rypien told reporters on Tuesday. “I played four years in high school and four years in college, so I’ve gotten a lot of reps and seen a lot of defenses. That’s probably my best quality—being able to understand defenses, think fast and get the ball out.”
Rypien was not just a solid quarterback in college, but consistently one of the best college QBs every year he took the blue turf in Boise. Now, he’s got a chance to show off those skills on the big stage.
For the Broncos, the change to Rypien was smart not only because he gives them the best chance to win tonight, against the awful 0-3 New York Jets, but because it gives Denver a chance to see what they have in the young gun-slinger, too.
Because, in the NFL it’s always “next man up” and Lock has already gone down twice with scary throwing arm injuries. They’re going to need a capable, athletic quarterback going forward; Rypien is the guy.
