Denver Broncos: 3 reasons why the Cincinnati Bengals are a trap game
By Andrew Wade
Jeff Driskel, backup quarterback and certified x-factor
Now, don’t get me wrong, more than likely Jeff Driskel is going to struggle Sunday afternoon when the Denver Broncos take on the Cincinnati Bengals, but there is also a small chance he has an incredible performance. You might be laughing at this point thinking the Denver Broncos have had pretty good performances against much more talented quarterbacks, and you would be right.
They held the Steelers potent offense to just 17 points and they have held Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense to two of their three lowest point totals this season.
What Jeff Driskel represents is the unknown though. Think of it as the Nick Mullens effect (for the best recent comparison I could find). Mullens was undrafted out of Southern Miss and has been hanging out on the 49ers practice squad for the last year and a half. He then got his first start after the 49ers top two quarterbacks went down and threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns in his first start. Even if it was against the Raiders, that’s impressive.
We can even pull one from recent Broncos history. Brock Osweiler had a solid start to his career. In his first game as a starter, he threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Heck, that season he threw for just under 2,000 yards and ten touchdowns with an 86.4 quarterback rating. The rest is obviously history from there.
The point is we don’t know what to expect from Driskel because there is limited tape on him as a pro, and despite being a journeyman former sixth-round draft pick, he does have some talent to play in this league. He’s got a lively arm and he is deceptively athletic. In fact, he ran a 4.56 40-yard dash at the combine, and some of that athleticism was on display as he consistently evaded Brown’s pass rushers in an attempt to chuck the ball down the field late in last weekend’s game.
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There is a reason why Cincinnati felt comfortable with him as the backup to the somewhat ineffective Dalton. It’s because the guy can play in this league. If the Denver Broncos aren’t able to put in an effective game plan to stop the young signal-caller, it could spell trouble in tomorrow’s contest.