Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Broncos QB Brandon Allen Credits Flacco in Post-Game Victory Speech
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Third-year quarterback Brandon Allen is coming off the first NFL start of his career. Allen led the Denver Broncos to a 24-19 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 9, in a game in which the home team were billed as underdogs by odds-makers.
While Allen was a little shaky at times, the bigger takeaway was how poised he was in the face of such an enormous moment. Playing behind what had been a beleaguered Broncos offensive line, Allen's mobility helped the offense extend plays and keep drives alive.
Allen finished the game with a solid stat-line, going 12-of-20 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. He posted a 125.6 QB rating in the first start of his career, which is impressive and unusual.
After the game, head coach Vic Fangio presented Allen with the game ball, which gave the young signal-caller an opportunity to address the locker room. What unfolded was an eye-opening display of sportsmanship and football class.
“I appreciate you guys," Allen said. "Joe, I appreciate you, man. I appreciate everything you’ve done for this team so far. Let’s get a few more.”
Allen gave the credit for his first career win to Joe Flacco, who he supplanted in the starting lineup. Flacco started the first eight games of the season, leading the Broncos to a 2-6 start before suffering a herniated disc in his neck that saw him land on season-ending injured reserve.
Allen joined Flacco in the Broncos' QB room just two months ago, after the team claimed him off waivers from the L.A. Rams on the doorstep of the regular season. It's hard to say exactly how helpful Flacco has been to his backups and understudies, in terms of proactively taking guys under his wing, but Allen's remarks were a great tribute to a veteran QB who took some lumps and suffered a significant injury leading this team.
Suffice to say, Allen's sportsmanship made an impression on his teammates in the locker room. So did his poise on gameday.
“His competitiveness but you know what impressed me the most was just the way he stayed calm. Brandon—you’d think a guy would go out there wide-eyed but holy cow, that guy kept us all calm," rookie left guard Dalton Risner said in the locker room post-game. "He kept me calm. I thought I might have to keep him calm a little bit but he was keeping me calm towards the end of the game. So a lot of credit to him. He’s worked extremely hard. His post-game speech, he gave all his credit to Joe Flacco, so that’s the type of guy he is. So kudos to him.”
As encouraging as Allen's first start was, as Fangio reminded everyone after the win, let's see how he holds up coming out of the Week 10 bye when the Broncos take to the road in back-to-back games vs. Minnesota and Buffalo, respecively.
"He did well. I thought he ran the offense good, showed a little mobility, made some good throws," Fangio said. "He missed a few, too, We're not ready to put him in Canton yet but [I'm] overall pleased with the way he played."
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