QB Rank, Week 12: Brock Osweiler builds his case as Broncos' starter
Brock Osweiler is giving the Denver Broncos some tough decisions to make.
Forget the choice Denver will have to make when Peyton Manning returns from a foot injury. The more important concern, at least for the long-term, is how much money John Elway and company will throw at the 25-year-old Osweiler when his contract expires in the offseason.
It remains to be seen if Osweiler is a better choice than a healthy Manning, but he has at least proven himself as a player capable of leading a playoff-caliber team. After all, he led the Broncos to a win against the previously undefeated New England Patriots in adverse weather conditions with his top target, Demaryius Thomas, playing maybe the worst game of his career.
Even if Manning can return this season, Denver needs a quarterback of the future, and they'll have to commit a decent amount of money to keep Osweiler in town. But is he worth it?
On the field, the 2012 second-round pick has sparked a once floundering offense.
The narrative that Osweiler’s presence helps the running game may be a little overblown. Yes, Denver finished with 178 rush yards against the Patriots, but that number was inflated by C.J. Anderson’s 48-yard game-winning run.
The ground game was also aided by the Patriots’ injury problems. New England was without linebacker Jamie Collins and lost Dont’a Hightower in the third quarter. Before Hightower went out, the Broncos had gained only 38 yards on 13 carries (or a 2.9 yards per carry average).
Osweiler’s presence does, however, allow Gary Kubiak to get back to his base passing game, which calls for a lot of throws on the move. That plays to Osweiler’s skill-set, which is similar to another passer who thrived under Kubiak: Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.
Both passers are big, with strong arms and good mobility. Osweiler’s teammate, cornerback Chris Harris, made the connection back in February:
"Gary Kubiak is a great fit for Brock," Harris told the Denver Post's Woody Paige and Les Shapiro. "Brock is Joe Flacco Jr. He has the big arm. He’s tall like Joe. He’s mobile. He’s the same mobile as Joe.”
Neither quarterback sees the field particularly well, but that’s not necessarily a prerequisite in Kubiak’s offense, which is built on route combinations that provide the quarterback with either/or reads. Give Kubiak a QB with a strong arm and who's a threat to move out of the pocket and he’ll produce a good offense.
On Sunday against New England, Osweilier exhibited both of those attributes. He made several deep sideline throws, which have given Manning trouble all year.
He also did an excellent job of executing Kubiak’s bootleg designs, which haven't been very effective with Manning at the helm.
Even if Osweiler is the answer this season, the Denver offense still has holes that could hold the team back in January. The offensive line is poor and the running game is still a work in process.
Manning, when healthy, can transcend those problems with his mind and quick release. Osweiler is a complementary piece at this point. With him in the lineup, the ceiling of the offense is much lower. The floor is also higher than the lows we’ve seen the Broncos hit with Manning struggling this year.
No matter what direction Denver goes in when Manning returns, it appears the team has found Peyton's replacement.
Now onto this week’s rankings…
LAST WEEK vs. DEN: 23/42, 280 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
With Rob Gronkowski now nicked up, Brady’s working with Brandon LaFell and a group of players who would struggle to start on any other team in the league. And he still putting up ridiculous numbers. Sorry, Cam. Brady is still the clear choice for MVP.
LAST WEEK vs. SF: 24/40, 271 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Palmer’s streak of 300-yard, three-touchdown games was halted at three in San Francisco, as the Cardinals had a surprisingly tough time beating the 49ers. Palmer wasn’t at his best, but he made the necessary plays down the stretch to maintain his spot on this list.
LAST WEEK vs. DAL: 16/27, 183 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
The Panthers defense essentially gave Carolina’s offense the day off, but Newton still had enough splashy throws to stick around in the MVP race. There isn’t a quarterback in the league who has to look for his second and third read as consistently as Newton, but he still keeps this offense moving.
LAST WEEK vs. SEA: 36/55, 456 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions
Roethlisberger played an exceptional game in a tough environment. His two interceptions likely decided the game, though, and both were squarely on him. The first was a ball that slipped out of his hand while he threw. The second was a reckless heave to Antonio Brown, who fell down, and the pass was hauled in by Richard Sherman.
LAST WEEK vs. CHI: 22/43, 202 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
Rodgers’ wide receivers aren’t getting open consistently, but the quarterback can’t completely be absolved of responsibility for the offense’s issues. Rodgers just doesn’t look comfortable in the pocket, which is causing him to miss throws he typically makes. He was bailed out by a bad holding call that negated a brutal interception thrown from an awkward platform.
LAST WEEK vs. JAX: 29/43, 300 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
The Chargers snapped their six-game losing streak thanks to a brilliant performance by Rivers. The Jaguars defense, which struggles to get to the quarterback, was no match for a quarterback of Rivers’ ilk. He had plenty of time in the pocket to dissect Jacksonville’s vanilla coverages. Sadly, he and his overmatched line will return to reality when the Broncos defense travels to San Diego this week.
LAST WEEK vs. STL: 20/27, 233 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception
Dalton overcame a couple of questionable decisions to put up another big statistical game. Having A.J. Green to throw to makes things easier. The two connected for two scores in the win over St. Louis.
LAST WEEK: vs. PIT, 21/30, 345 yards, 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Wilson once again established himself as one of the best throwers of the football in the league. The Steelers’ failure to cover Seattle receivers throughout the game helped Wilson’s cause, but he deserves credit for capitalizing on Pittsburgh’s mistakes.
LAST WEEK vs. WSH: 26/51, 321 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
In what could end up being the deciding game in the NFC East “race,” Manning turned in a bad performance. He threw three interceptions, two of which were on tipped balls caused by Manning’s inaccuracy.
LAST WEEK vs. HOU: 25-44, 228 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception
Brees is on his way out of the top 10 after a game in which the Saints failed to find the end zone. We can’t put it all on Brees, who was playing behind a bad offensive line without any semblance of a running game. New Orleans' average yards-to-go on third down was an impossible 11.1. Even J.J. Watt must have felt bad for Brees.
11. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
12. Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders
13. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
When Jamaal Charles went down, it was assumed the Chiefs offense and their season would follow suit. That hasn’t happened, thanks in large part to Alex Smith and his aversion to turnovers. He’s played complementary football, which has really helped out a defense that has been dominant over the last month or so. On Sunday, we even saw the typically cautious Smith push the ball downfield to Jeremy Maclin when he got single coverage on the outside.
Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor took the fall for the team’s offensive problems earlier this week, but some of the blame has to go to Ryan Tannehill, whose progression has stalled in 2015. He signed a four-year, $77 million deal in the offseason and has not played up to it thus far. Sure, the running game has been awful – Miami ran for 12 yards on Sunday – but when a quarterback is making close to $20 million a year, he is expected to carry the unit. Tannehill has not proven he’s capable of doing that this season.
Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota played similar games in Week 11: Both took bad sacks, threw a number of inaccurate passes but made enough impressive throws to keep their teams in the game. Mariota and Winston even threw nearly identical touchdown passes:
BEST THROW OF THE WEEK
Stumbling during his drop, Carson Palmer managed to regain his footing just in time to unleash an arching throw off his back foot to set up the game-winning touchdown.
WORST THROW OF THE WEEK
Attention, Blake Bortles: The line of scrimmage is back there