Broncos Roundtable: What must Brandon Allen do to remain the starter?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bye-bye Bye Week and hello to the second edition of the Brandon-Allen led Broncos as they march into Minnesota to take on Gary Kubiak and the Vikings on Sunday.

Despite being the only undefeated starting quarterback in the NFL, Allen wasn’t the most talked-about quarterback in Denver this week thanks to Drew Lock returning to the practice field.

But what, if anything, can Allen do to remain the Broncos’ starting quarterback and fend off the highly-anticipated rookie?

The DNVR Broncos Crew breaks it down.

WHAT MUST BRANDON ALLEN DO TO REMAIN THE STARTER?

Ryan

Show promise and improvement —  When push comes to shove, the NFL doesn’t discriminate when it comes to quarterbacks who can play. Just look at Kyle Allen out in Carolina—the kid showed he could play and is now getting a real shot at becoming a franchise guy. If Brandon Allen continues to show that he can make plays at this level and steadily improves, the Broncos aren’t going to want to be the ones who pulled the plug too early.

The truth is, the Broncos went out and got Allen because he fits this system, if he starts trending up, they’ll want to let it ride.

Zac

Win — It truly is as simple as that. Win and he’s in as Denver’s starting quarterback for another week. And that will continue until, well, he loses.

It’s clear John Elway is focused on one thing and one thing only: Winning right now. If Allen carries the Broncos on a winning streak, even if he struggles, they’ll continue to roll with the experienced quarterback instead of turning over the keys to a rookie—whether that be Lock or Brett Rypien.

However, if Allen loses and looks uninspiring in the process, his seat will be hotter than a hot potato.

Mase

Win — I hate to sound like a broken record here, but even a single win in this two-game road swing could keep him in the starting lineup through Week 15, as long as the Broncos also win their only home game in the next five weeks, against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13.

An upset of Minnesota or Buffalo with Allen under center would bring the Broncos back home on Dec. 1 with a 2-1 record since Joe Flacco was lost for the season. If they followed that by beating the Chargers, the Broncos would have a 3-1 mark in the third quarter of the season after losing 10 of their previous 12 games. That would almost certainly delay Lock’s debut until Week 16 — and perhaps later, if the Broncos could turn that momentum into upsets at Houston and Kansas City.

HOW DIFFERENT WOULD THE BRONCOS’ SEASON BE IF GARY KUBIAK WAS THE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?

Ryan

Not different at all — While he’s more versed in calling plays at this level than Rich Scangarello is, let’s not act like Gary Kubiak is some puppet master on the play sheet. In the end, you’re only as good as your personnel and most-certainly-not-in-his-prime Joe Flacco wasn’t going to be winning games for anyone this year.

Let’s also not forget that Kubiak came as a package deal with a clown car full of mediocre-at-best assistants. Would you want to see what this offensive line would look like if it wasn’t being coached by one of the best in the game? I sure wouldn’t.

Zac

A win or two… better — One thing that became clear against the Browns was there’s a real possibility the offensive struggles weren’t as much on Rich Scangarello, but more so on Joe Flacco’s shoulders.

However, even with a poorly performing Flacco, Scangarello has had his fair share of rookie mistakes. Sure, there would have been mistakes with Kubiak at the helm, but certainly not as many.

On top of that, you can’t ignore what Kubiak’s offense is doing out in Minnesota. Last year, without Kubiak, the Vikings were near the bottom-third in points per game (22.5), had a bottom-five rushing offense and a slightly above-average passing game.

This year, with the Super Bowl-winning head coach on their offensive staff, the Vikings are in the top 10 in points per game (26.2), have a top-three rushing attack and Kirk Cousins is having by far the best season of his career.

The major difference between last year and this year? Gary Kubiak. So it’s naive to say he wouldn’t be worth a win or two over a first-year coordinator.

Mase

One win better — Remember, the Broncos are 2-3 in games decided by seven or fewer points. The three losses decided by last-minute field goals get the attention, but it wouldn’t have taken much for the wins over the Chargers and Browns to go in the other direction. The guess here is that Kubiak’s presence allows the Broncos to get just a bit more offense against the Bears or Colts, leading to another win.

Denver’s offense was nothing special in 2016, Kubiak’s final season on the Broncos’ coaching staff. The success in Minnesota is a combination of coaching, Dalvin Cook being at full strength and better material in terms of personnel, particularly at quarterback, with Kirk Cousins ideally suited for the scheme based on his skill set and his early-career background with Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan in Washington.

RESULT VS. VIKINGS (-10.5)

Ryan

Broncos 17, Vikings 14 — Yep. I’m calling the massive upset.

The Vikings are overrated and the Broncos defense is under rated. With the ‘D’ putting the clamps on the Vikings’ offense, a few explosive plays from Brandon Allen and the boys turn out to be enough to get it done.

Book it.

Zac

Vikings 24, Broncos 13 — A double-digit underdog is daunting in the NFL. But there’s a justified reason for it in this game.

Brandon Allen’s stats were magnificent in his first career start against the Browns. But the film wasn’t as kind, as Allen himself would admit. If he plays the same way he did against Cleveland, it will take a miracle for the Broncos to beat the 7-3 Minnesota Vikings. In fact, it would be a mighty accomplishment if Denver even covered the spread.

With Kirk Cousins catching fire with Kubiak, Dalvin Cook leading the league in rushing and Stefon Diggs on the outside, Denver’s defense is up to one of its toughest challenges of the season.

For the Broncos to have a chance, they’ll not only need to bring Cousins back down to earth, but they’ll also need to be the turnover-machine they hoped to be in training camp.

Mase

Vikings 20, Broncos 10 — A Broncos win Sunday would be their biggest upset in two decades. The Broncos have not won on the road as a double-digit underdog since at least 1979, according to pro-football-reference.com. Their only two wins over opponents favored by 10 or more points in that span came at home in the 1987 strike and in Super Bowl XXXII, on a neutral field.

But the Broncos’ path to victory is narrow, involving a turnover-free game from Allen, successfully containing Cook both on the ground and in the passing game and building an early two-score lead and maintaining it, forcing the Vikings out of the balanced game they want to play. The Vikings lost both games in which they had 35 or more pass plays this year; they’re 7-1 in all other contests. Get them behind and force them to the air, and you have the Norsemen where you want them.

xxx Another random fact: Per pro-football-reference.com, the Vikings are 16-1 when they are a double-digit favorite at home since 2003. Their only loss? To a team with an Allen at quarterback — Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who guided the Bills to a 27-6 stunner over the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium last season.

The Broncos have to hope that small slice of history repeats itself.