Denver Broncos: Team could be up against familiar face on TNF

After losing three games in a row, the Denver Broncos face a quick turnaround with their next game coming up on Thursday Night Football.

Both of these teams sit at 3-3 and will be hungry for a win. When the schedule was released, this looked like a loss for the Broncos, going up against one of the AFC’s perceived best teams.

But the Browns have been struggling as well, though not as bad as the Broncos, and they are banged up at key positions.

Running back Nick Chubb missed the team’s Week 6 game against the Arizona Cardinals and the team’s other back, Kareem Hunt, was injured during that game and is expected to miss several weeks.

More importantly, quarterback Baker Mayfield separated his left shoulder during the game and his status for Thursday night is up in the air.

If Mayfield is unable to go, the Browns would have to turn to a quarterback familiar to Broncos fans, Case Keenum.

Keenum played briefly in relief of Mayfield against Arizona, completing one of his three pass attempts for six yards. He spent one season in Denver as the team’s starter during one of many failed attempts to find a quarterback since the retirement of Peyton Manning.

Keenum made 16 starts in 2018 and completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 3,890 yards (the most in his career) with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Those are not the worst numbers by any means, but it wasn’t enough to prevent John Elway from trading for Joe Flacco that offseason.

Keenum is in his second season with the Browns and he has not made any starts as Mayfield has been able to stay on the field. But that streak could come to an end on Thursday, which could slow down a quickly closing door for the Broncos.

What happens if Case Keenum beats the Broncos?

If the Broncos were able to face the Browns without Mayfield, Chubb and Hunt, they could have a chance in a game they likely wouldn’t have much chance to win with the way they are playing. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry is also on injured reserve.

The Broncos have been bad the last three weeks, being outscored by a total of 84-50 in those games. Vic Fangio’s defense has been atrocious and every other aspect of the team has not been much better.

Ironically, Keenum drawing a start for the Browns could prove to be a pivotal point in the Broncos’ 2021 season, as there are two ways to look at it.

A win over that Browns team could get the Broncos back on the right track or a loss to a team facing injuries to so many key players could make Fangio’s seat so hot that he might not be able to sit on it much longer.