Brock Osweiler to start at quarterback for Broncos against Eagles

The Denver Broncos are making a quarterback change. 2017 starter Trevor Siemian has been benched. The Broncos will be starting Brock Osweiler against the Eagles in Philadelphia this week, according to Mike Klis of 9News.

This change doesn’t come as a surprise considering how poorly Siemian has played this season. Through seven starts this season, Siemian has completed 61.5% of his passes for 1,669 yards (6.8 average), nine touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a mere 76.8 passer rating.

Siemian’s struggles have contributed to a Broncos offense that’s looked awful lately. Denver has only managed to score 29 points in their last three games combined (9.7 average). The Broncos have only scored three touchdowns in their last 40 drives.

Although benching Siemian was an obvious decision, it’s not like Osweiler inspires a ton of confidence. In 37 career games played, Osweiler has completed 59.8% of his passes for 5,101 yards (6.2 average), 26 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, and a 77.3 passer rating. He’s also fumbled nine times.

There was thought Osweiler was going to take over for Peyton Manning when the future Hall of Fame quarterback retired after Denver’s Super Bowl win, but Osweiler ended up signing with the Texans in free agency instead. Osweiler was unsurprisingly awful in Houston. He was so bad that the Texans had to give up a second-round pick to Cleveland just to get rid of him and his terrible contract. He spent the 2017 offseason with the Browns before they released him in final cuts this summer.

Osweiler is 13-8 in 21 career starts, which is misleading because it’s not like he’s been the reason behind those wins. The 6-7, 243 pound passer has benefited from playing on teams with great defenses.

The good news for Brock is that the Broncos still have a good defense. Denver will provide a challenge for a high-flying Eagles offense in Philly.

But the Eagles also have a defense that’s been playing well recently, so Osweiler’s job won’t be easy.

The Birds are big 8-point favorites heading into Sunday’s game. A win for the Eagles would mean being at 8-1 heading into their Week 10 bye.