A sweet homecoming was never likely for Brock Osweiler in Denver on Monday but the Houston Texans quarterback got much more than he bargained for as he delivered a nightmare performance against the Broncos in a 27-9 loss.
Returning to the Sports Authority Field at Mile High where he had been understudy to NFL great Peyton Manning for four years, Osweiler threw for only 131 yards on 41 attempts with just 22 completions. Early in the fourth quarter with the Texans trailing 21-9, Osweiler endured his most embarrassing moment of the night with an unexpected fumble, the ball slipping out of his hands just as he was preparing to throw.
“They say every quarterback is going to experience it at some point where the ball just flies out of your hand, and unfortunately I got to experience it tonight,” Osweiler told reporters after Houston fell to 4-3 for the season.
“To go out there and have a performance like we did today, it’s extremely disappointing. But I also think you need to give credit where credit is due. The Broncos are a great football team and they came to play in all three phases today. That secondary and defensive line made it very tough for us to move the football offensively so you need to tip your hat to them.”
With linebacker Von Miller, last season’s Super Bowl MVP, leading the way with his uncanny ability to make sack after sack, the Broncos are the best defensive team in the league, so Osweiler was always going to face a daunting challenge.
On Monday, the Texans quarterback could find no offensive rhythm against players who had been his team mates until he decided to leave Denver in March and sign a four-year, $72 mn contract with the Texans. “Our job as an offensive unit is to score touchdowns and score enough touchdowns to win a football game, and we didn’t do that tonight as a unit,” said Osweiler, who had a 5-2 record in place of the injured Manning last season before being benched.
“And it starts with me. I need to play better. There’s nobody who is going to examine this game tape harder than myself. We like to push the football down the field and we weren’t able to do that tonight. I over-threw the receivers a few times. We will find a way to clean this up.”
Quarterback Trevor Siemian threw for a touchdown and guided four other scoring drives for the Broncos. Siemian, the unlikely successor to the retired Peyton Manning after Osweiler, Manning’s four-year understudy in Denver, left to sign a free agent deal with Houston, overcame a sluggish start by the Broncos’ offense to complete 14 of 25 for 157 yards. He threw 4 yards to Demaryius Thomas for a touchdown. Running backs CJ Anderson (16 carries, 107 yards) and rookie Devontae Booker (17-83) finished two other drives with a 7 and 1 yard scoring carries, respectively, as the Broncos bounced back from consecutive losses.
It was a sweet win as well for Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who returned from an illness that forced him to miss last week’s loss to the San Diego Chargers. He guided Denver (5-2) past the Texans, a team he used to coach.
Late in the third quarter, with Denver ahead just 14-9, Siemian connected downfield with wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who made the catching falling backwards for a 31-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal at the 2. Two plays later, Booker bulled his way into the end zone from 1 yard out, extending the lead to 12 points.
On the ensuing Houston possession, Osweiler lost control of the ball as he cocked his arm to pass. The ball fluttered forward, and the fumble was recovered at the Houston 25-yard line by cornerback Chris Harris Jr., leading to a 22-yard field goal by Brandon McManus with 11:37 left.
Trailing by eight points at halftime, the Texans (4-3) drove down the field before stalling and settling for a third field goal by Nick Novak, this one a 29-yarder. Houston climbed within 14-9 with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Denver saw three productive offensive plays wiped out by holding calls, including a brilliant downfield catch by Demaryius Thomas before finally getting untracked to take a 14-6 halftime lead.