Trevor Siemian

Brock Osweiler removed all doubt the Broncos made the right decision to let him walk

Published Nov. 15, 2016 1:51 p.m. ET

Dieter Kurtenbach

The Denver Broncos shocked the football world when they let Peyton Manning's heir apparent at quarterback, Brock Osweiler, sign a four-year, $72 million deal with the Houston Texans in March.

The Broncos reportedly made a low-ball offer but were all too happy to let the Arizona State product, who was arguably the better of the team's two quarterbacks in its Super Bowl-winning campaign, leave town.

The Broncos didn't lack the money and they certainly lacked a viable backup plan at the time.

What were they thinking? What were they going to do?

Well, seven months later, it's painfully apparent that the Broncos made the right decision to let Osweiler walk.

Osweiler's return to Mile High Stadium Monday was a disaster — a continuation of many of the themes that have haunted the quarterback and his new team so far this season.

Osweiler completed only 22 of 41 passes Monday night, amassing a total of 131 yards through the air — that's less than three yards for every pass attempt.

Meanwhile, Denver won 24-9 in a steady-as-she-goes performance that reaffirmed they are one of the AFC's elite teams.

It sure didn't look like the Broncos missed Osweiler.

Despite having one of the biggest frames in the game and perhaps the fastest receivers in the sport, Osweiler was 0-for-6 on passes traveling more than 15 yards Monday night, with his longest completion of the game checking in at 13 yards.

On the season, Osweiler has completed only about a quarter of his 56 passes of more than 15 yards — last in the NFL.

The Broncos' vaunted defense toyed with the Texans' quarterback all night, and Osweiler was happy to self-sabotage as well — it takes a special effort for a 6-foot-8 quarterback to have a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage, but all too often Monday, Osweiler found his offerings hit back his way.

After the Broncos let Osweiler walk, they acquired Mark Sanchez and drafted Paxton Lynch, but both were beaten out by one of Osweiler's teammates — Trevor Siemian — for the starting quarterback job this season.

Siemian has hardly been spectacular, but he's been relatively steady this season, and Monday night's win was one of the best performances of his career. While Osweiler flailed, Siemian completed 14-of-25 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.

But more important than the stats was Siemian's understanding of the Broncos offense. He knew where the ball needed to be delivered Monday and — far more often than not — delivered it.

There was a lot of handwringing and second-guessing in the offseason. There were still questions about Siemian heading into this week, even. But watching the two quarterbacks on the field Monday, it's hard to think that Osweiler would have been able to make the same unspectacular but effective throws Siemian did.

Siemian, by the way, has two years remaining on a four-year, $2.3 million deal.

Brock Osweiler's 3.2 yards per pass attempt vs @Broncos is 3rd-fewest in a single game by a player with 40+ attempts in the Super Bowl era
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 25, 2016