The Broncos could have started 7-3 this year if four plays had gone their way.
The Denver Broncos haven’t been officially eliminated from playoff contention yet but with a 3-7 record, their chances of reaching the postseason are slim. Denver could have been in playoff position — and leading the AFC West — if four plays had gone its way this season.
In Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, the Broncos lost 16-14 on a last-second field goal. Had that field goal been unsuccessful, Denver would have started the year 1-1. A few plays before the field goal attempt, Broncos outside linebacker Bradley Chubb was incorrectly penalized for roughing the passer.
In Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver lost 26-24 on a late field goal. Had that attempt been unsuccessful, the Broncos could have started the year 2-2. Denver outside linebacker Von Miller was questionably penalized for roughing the passer on Jacksonville’s game-winning drive.
In Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Broncos lost 15-13 on yet another late field goal. Had those three late-game kicks been unsuccessful, Denver could have started the year 5-3.
In Week 11, the Broncos were in position to take a 30-27 lead over the Minnesota Vikings on the road but quarterback Brandon Allen was unable to connect with tight end Noah Fant in the end zone on the final play of the game. Denver lost 27-23. Had Fant caught that pass and had those three kicks mentioned earlier gone wide, the Broncos could have started the year 7-3.
Pointing out those four plays is not meant as an excuse for Denver’s poor start this year — every team can point to plays that could have helped their record. But if those four plays had gone the Broncos’ way, some fans might feel differently about the state of the franchise.
“I think we’re close,” coach Vic Fangio said after Sunday’s loss. “But we haven’t gotten over the top well enough yet. We did in our previous game with the stop and then the ensuing first down to close it, but this game, we didn’t get it done. We’ll eventually get it done.
“These guys are good guys. They’re working their butts off. They enjoy coming to work. They like playing. We’ll just keep grinding and keep
pounding, and eventually we’ll get through.”
Denver isn’t an awful team. If the Broncos make a few improvements and if footballs start bouncing their way (and kicks go their way), the team will be back in playoff contention, perhaps as early as the 2020 season.
Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.
Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.
He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.
Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.
All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.
By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.
To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.
With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:
32. Miami Dolphins
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.
31. Chicago Bears
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For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.
30. Cincinnati Bengals
David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”
29. Washington Redskins
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The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.
The Bills found themselves a true top-wideout in John Brown. Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton is neck-and-neck with Brown this year. Brown has 56 catches for 817 yards, that’s good for the ninth-most yards of any receiver in the NFL and most for any in the AFC. Sutton is right behind him, but has less catches so he’s a big more of a deep-threat guy. Sutton has 39 grabs for 805 yards. Both players have four touchdowns this year.
But in Sutton, he leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth. While you consider Brown better perhaps because of your fandom for the Bills, consider this: If you also think Josh Allen is a good quarterback, you can admit Sutton’s thriving with much worse QB play this season with Joe Flacco and Brandon Allen. The bad taste comes from his draft status. He was the Broncos No. 40 pick in the second-round of 2018. Perhaps the Bills could’ve waited a year and not taken Zay Jones at No. 37 in 2017?
Pro Football Focus also ranks him as the seventh-best wideout in the NFL current (86.4).
Broncos quarterback Drew Lock is not expected to be activated from injured reserve to the 53-man roster this week.
Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock (thumb) has returned to practice and he is eligible to play but the team is in no rush to activate him from injured reserve to the 53-man roster.
Denver created an opening on the roster Tuesday when fullback Andy Janovich (elbow) was placed on injured reserve. Instead of filling Janovich’s roster spot by activating Lock, the Broncos instead signed tight end/fullback Orson Charles.
That wasn’t a surprising decision because with Andrew Beck playing fullback, Noah Fant and Troy Fumagalli were the only healthy tight ends on the roster before the team adding Charles. Even so, it appears that Denver might wait another week to bring back Lock.
“We’ll continue what we did last week, get him reps both on the scout team and get him some reps with the offense and see how he’s progressing,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said of Lock on Monday.
Fangio was then asked if Lock will serve as the backup QB for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills. That’s “unlikely, but possible,” the coach said. Undrafted rookie Brett Rypien has served as Brandon Allen‘s backup for the last two games.
The Vikings overcame a 20-0 deficit to beat the Broncos in Week 11. No other team has overcome such a large deficit since the 2014 season.
If each half counted as a game, the Denver Broncos would have added one victory and one loss to the club’s season record on Sunday. But taken as a whole, the Broncos lost 27-23 to the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis. Playing their best half of the season and leading 20-0 at halftime, the Broncos proceeded to play their worst half for the remainder of the game.
Previous to this Sunday, no NFL team has lost after a 20-or-more point halftime lead since the San Francisco 49ers fell to the then-San Diego Chargers in the 2014 season. Teams leading 20-or-more points at halftime have been 95-1 since the start of 2015.
Here is the Twitter recap of the up-and-down game.
The Broncos offense played its best half of the season, moving the ball both in the air and on the ground. Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello’s play-calling looked sharp. Quarterback Brandon Allen was crisp in his decision making and accurate with this throws.
#Broncos Allen connects to @nrfant for 31-yard gain.. He has to be second option behind @SuttonCourtland going forward. His development over next seven weeks is critical. #Denver7
Like the aerial strategy. Throw ball to best receiver repeatedly — Sutton. And use the tight ends. Helps that Denver has been able to run to loosen up #Vikings defense. Broncos lead 10-0 after six-play, 90-yard drive in 2:23. #Denver7
TOUCHDOWN — Eric Kendricks stuffed Andy Janovich and Janovich just kept pounding. Andrew Sendejo tried to strip the ball and hold him back and failed. Man alive, that brings back memories of Mike Alstott. Jano just kept going. WOW
#Broncos entered the game with seven takeaways. But produce huge turnover in second half. Defense has played well the last five weeks, save for #Chiefs game. Turnovers are the last piece of the puzzle. #Denver7
At halftime, the Broncos led 20-0. Offensively, the Broncos gained 217 yards to the Vikings’ 47. Allen went 7-of-17 passing for 104 yards. Sutton had 48 yards receiving and 38 yards passing.
Only one other time since the start of 2016 has the Broncos' D held an opponent to 47 or fewer net yards in the 1st half (Jets, 40 yds, Wk. 14 of 2017).
When they had their top-ranking D in 2015, they did it twice: vs. Ravens (38) and Raiders (-12).https://t.co/OcOzVIzj4A
Diggs made his cut on the post route and Chris Harris was a step behind. Diggs waved to get Cousins’ attention as Cousins rolled left, and the pass was true. 10:21 to go and the Broncos’ 20-point lead is now a fragile three points.
The Vikings did everything they could to hand the Broncos a win today, and Denver still couldn’t get it done. It’s a reminder of where this team truly stands.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins ultimately had an outstanding game, going 29-for-35 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a 133.2 rating.
Allen, in comparison, played adequately well by throwing 17-for-39, with one touchdown and one interception, and a 61.9 rating.
Coming off the bye week, the Denver Broncos go on the road to face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. Here are four things to watch for.
Coming off a bye week, the Denver Broncos will be fresh and rested in Week 11, which will probably be necessary as they will be facing one of the league’s better teams in the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
The Vikings are undefeated at home this season and are riding high following a big road win over the Dallas Cowboys last week.
The Broncos will have their hands full in this game and will need many things to happen in order to pull the upset. Here are four things to watch for in this game.
1. Minnesota’s rushing attack
(Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)
The Vikings rank third in the league in rushing yards behind only the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, a team that does much of its damage on the ground with the quarterback.
In terms of a power rushing attack, the Vikings might be the best. They run the ball right at you and right through you.
That has helped to make Dalvin Cook a legitimate NFL MVP candidate. The team also has a solid backup running back in Alexander Mattison and that duo creates plenty of problems for opposing defenses.
2. Brandon Allen
(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
How will Allen play in his second start at quarterback? Going up against the Vikings on the road will certainly be a stiff challenge.
Allen played well in his first start against the Cleveland Browns, but even he has to know that his grip on the starting job is tenuous as fans and many within the organization are going to want to see Drew Lock get his shot sooner rather than later.
“I want to play badly, but again, I’ve said it before, I trust the coaches,” Broncos quarterback Drew Lock said.
After injuring his thumb in a preseason game, Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock was sidelined for nearly three months before finally returning to practice Tuesday. Lock is still on injured reserve and his return to practice trigged a 21-day window for Denver to make a decision about his season.
The Broncos have three weeks to decide if Lock will be activated to the 53-man roster or spend the rest of the season on reserve. Lock’s not worrying about that at the moment, he’s just happy to be back on the field.
“It had been a long time [since I last practiced],” Lock said Wednesday. “It was like a dream come true coming back out here. It’s like I’m starting my journey back in the NFL all over again. It feels good to be finally back out there with the guys.
“It’s different because you’re involved with the team when you’re not practicing, but it doesn’t feel the same when you’re not actually out there doing it with them. To finally be able to be out there and be around the guys and toss the ball around a little bit, it felt really good.”
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Denver keep Lock on reserve for the next two games (on the road against the Vikings and another road game against the Bills) before activating him to be Brandon Allen‘s backup. By season’s end, Lock will probably be starting.
The QB may still be a few weeks away from even being a backup, though.
“Any guy that is a competitor is going to want to play today,” Lock said. “I want to play badly, but again, I’ve said it before, I trust the coaches. I trust their plan for me.
“If their plan is three weeks, their plan is three weeks. If their plan is two, whatever — whatever their plan is, I’ll be here and ready for them.”
I still tell him about it,” Broncos quarterback Brandon Allen said of beating Drew Lock in college.
Denver Broncos quarterbacks Brandon Allen and Drew Lock faced off as the starters for Arkansas and Missouri during the 2015 college football season. Allen was a senior and Lock was a freshman.
“It was freezing,” Allen said Wednesday. “I remember that. It was a sleet game at home. I think it was the only time I played him, and I think we beat him. That was good. I still tell him about it.”
Wait, he thinks he beat him?
“No, we definitely beat them,” Allen said with a smile.
The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 28-3.
Neither QB played particularly well in the game — they both threw an interception and neither scored a touchdown — but Allen got the win and therefore has the bragging rights.
“He does,” Lock admitted. “They did beat us when I was a young 18-year-old. I think he was a fifth-year guy so what 22 maybe, 23? I was very young, but then I think we took care of business the next couple of years.”
Brandon’s younger brother, Austin, took over as Arkansas’ starter in 2016. Lock got the best of Austin in 2016 and 2017, winning 28-24 and 48-45.
“I kind of claimed [bragging rights] back from him and it was against his brother,” Lock said. “I think I got the family outright. He just might have me.”
Austin signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and failed to make their 53-man roster. He then went on to spend time with the Memphis Express and Salt Lake Stallions in the now-folded AAF.
Lock went on to be selected by Denver in the second round of April’s draft. He is below Allen on the depth chart at the moment but that might change by the end of the season.
The Vikings have already had Chase Daniel and Matt Moore beat them this season. They are hoping Allen isn’t added to this list.
With Joe Flacco out for the rest of the season with a neck injury, Brandon Allen finds himself as the starting quarterback of the 3-6 Denver Broncos.
Allen, a 2016 sixth-round pick out of Arkansas, started his first-career game in Week 9 against the Cleveland Browns and finished with 190 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He attempted just 20 passes.
The Browns defense isn’t exactly the Vikings defense and there’s a good chance Allen will have to throw the ball if the Broncos want to steal one at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Vikings have been solid against the run, allowing just 91 rushing yards per game, a mark that ranks seventh in the NFL. The pass defense, however, has been exposed. Minnesota is allowing 241 passing yards per game, a mark that ranks 18th in the NFL. That will be Denver’s opportunity.
The Vikings have already had Chase Daniel and Matt Moore beat them this season. If Allen is added to this list, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer might just lose it.
Courtland Sutton with the STRONG catch
