Inside the Game: Broncos look to expose Chiefs in man-to-man
Dec 21, 2016, 8:11 PM | Updated: Dec 22, 2016, 5:00 am
Among the silver linings from the Denver Broncos first matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 was quarterback Trevor Siemian’s play.
In the heartbreaking overtime 30-27 loss, Siemian performed perhaps better than any previous game of his short career — save for maybe his strong outing against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 — throwing for 368 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-34 passing.
Not to mention much of Siemian’s success came after a poor first half, throwing for just 89 yards on 9-of-15 passing for no score.
After the game, head coach Gary Kubiak said Siemian “played like a champ” despite the loss.
“I think Trevor’s play was tremendous. He made big plays across the board. He made some tremendous throws,” Kubiak said. “I wish he could have gotten out of here with a win tonight. That’s part of being a pro. You have to battle through it. I’m proud of him. He played really well.”
Siemian, with help from Demaryius Thomas, Bennie Fowler, and Emmanuel Sanders, was able to utilize the deep ball to put up points. Twice the Broncos gunslinger hooked up for six on playing going longer 35 yards, including a 76-yarder to Fowler to put the team up eight with 3:12 remaining in the game.
On the scoring drive previous to that, Siemian and Sanders hooked up for a 64-yard connection and, after a 15-yard penalty on Kubiak, a 35-yard strike for a score two plays later.
After the game, Siemian credited his wide receivers, saying they “stepped up big time and made some big plays for us.”
But it was the offense’s ability to exploit a Chiefs defensive unit that gave Denver the big play ability.
“They’re an aggressive group, Kansas City. Sometimes you’ve got to go stretch the field,” Siemian said after the game.
In this week’s “Inside the Game” with Mark Schlereth, the “Schlereth and Evans” co-host details how Siemian and Sanders connected for six in that game and how the Broncos will try to expose the Chiefs again coming up on Sunday night in Kansas City.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
