Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio announced the team will be without QB Joe Flacco against the Browns, and Brandon Allen will start in his place.
Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio announced on Monday that starting quarterback Joe Flacco is going to be out for at least a couple of weeks with an injury, and that backup Brandon Allen will start in his place.
Allen has never taken an NFL snap and was claimed by the Broncos off of waivers from the Los Angeles Rams when rosters were cut down from 90 to 53 players.
Allen’s first job as a starting quarterback in the NFL? Bring life to a lifeless offense which has been among the most embarrassing units in the entire NFL.
Good luck.
Coach Fangio announced that Joe Flacco will not play this week due to a herniated disc in his neck.
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 28, 2019
QB Brandon Allen will start in #CLEvsDEN. pic.twitter.com/sW28XXehL7
Allen does have some things going in his favor.
First of all, he can’t get much worse than Flacco has been over the past couple of weeks, staring down outlet receivers in the flat, operating the offense with very little in the way of energy. As a matter of fact, Troy Aikman called out the Broncos’ offense for looking lackadaisical under Flacco’s leadership.
Flacco’s frustrations boiled over on Sunday when the Broncos lost to the Indianapolis Colts, and the offense was the chief reason why.
Over the course of the last four games, the Broncos are 2-2 as a team but Flacco has been playing below replacement level.
Joe Flacco stats, last 4 games
- 73-of-114 (64 percent)
- 746 yards
- 1 touchdown
- 2 interceptions
- 15 sacks
- 6 fumbles
Flacco has the worst touchdown percentage in the NFL among 30 qualifiers at 2.3 percent this season (6 touchdowns in 262 attempts) and just flat out hasn’t been getting the job done for the Broncos this season, as this team ranks 26th in passing, 30th in 3rd-down offense, and 26th in red-zone offense.
While it’s easy to fall in love with the devil you don’t know, it’s also important to exercise some caution here with Allen. He looked solid in a preseason performance against the Broncos, but he was brought in as an emergency option and I don’t know that the intent was ever to have him play for any reason other than an emergency.
And here we are.
Allen comes in against a desperate Cleveland team with the 22nd ranked scoring defense and the 7th-ranked pass defense.
Fangio said that right now, injured reserve is not an option for Flacco but it could end up being an option.
As far as Drew Lock is concerned, he is eligible to play week 9 against the Browns, and he might suit up, but the Broncos also can call up Brett Rypien off the practice squad to back up Allen.
Lock hasn’t practiced since he was injured in the preseason but things are now in motion for the Broncos to move on to their second-round pick in short order. How short? We’ll find out.