Brock Osweiler became the 47th starting quarterback in Broncos history on Sunday in Denver’s 17-15 win in Chicago, the first win for the Broncos in the windy city since 1993. Osweiler looked good for the most part and carried an impressive statline. Here are some other notable Broncos debuts as starting quarterbacks to see how Osweiler stacks up.
Craig Morton – 9/18/77 vs St. Louis Cardinals
In Morton’s debut, the veteran quarterback didn’t have to do much in a shutout victory behind his orange crush defense. You could probably say the same thing about most of his starts that year in 1977.
12-20 144 yards 0 touchdowns 1 interception
Broncos 7, Cardinals 0
Steve DeBerg – 11/22/81 @ Cincinnati Bengals
DeBerg steps in for the aforementioned Morton and losses on the road vs the then powerhouse Bengals who ended up losing Super Bowl XVI to the 49ers.
21-34, 305 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
Bengals 38, Broncos 21
John Elway – 9/4/83 @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Elway’s debut didn’t go as planned as he was eventually replaced by DeBerg against the Steelers.
1-8, 14 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interceptions
Broncos 14, Steelers 10
Gary Kubiak – 11/20/83 vs Seattle Seahawks
Kubiak gets a spot start in his and Elway’s rookie year to lead the Broncos to a win against the division rival Seahawks.
10-18, 165 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
Broncos 38, Seahawks 27
Tommy Maddox – 11/22/92 @ Los Angeles Raiders
In the experiment that likely lost Dan Reeves his job, Maddox made his first of four starts for the Broncos in 1992 being shutout by the L.A. Raiders.
18-26, 207 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
Raiders 24, Broncos 0
Bubby Brister – 9/27/98 @ Washington Football Club
Being politically correct here. In the most often compared situation to the current Broncos, Bubby Brister leads the Broncos into D.C. and leaves with his team still undefeated.
16-24, 180 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Broncos 38, Washington F.C. 16
Brian Griese – 9/13/99 vs Miami Dolphins
All things considered with Griese having the tall task of being the first starting quarterback in the post-Elway era, Son of Bob played pretty well in a early season road loss in Miami.
24-40, 270 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Dolphins 38, Broncos 21
Jake Plummer – 9/7/03 @ Cincinnati Bengals
Talk about a weird game. Plummer had probably the worst debut for a Broncos starting quarterback since Elway yet leads the Broncos, behind Clinton Portis‘ 124 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns, to a blowout win.
12-25, 115 yards, 0 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
Broncos 30, Bengals 10
Jay Cutler – 12/3/06 vs Seattle Seahawks
The Broncos didn’t let Cutler do much in his first start in a primetime game against the defending NFC championship Seahawks, but he made things interesting late when he found Brandon Marshall for a long game-tying touchdown before ultimately losing in overtime.
10-21, 143 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
Seahawks 23, Broncos 20
Kyle Orton – 9/13/09 @ Cincinnati Bengals
Finishing the trifecta of Broncos quarterbacks to make their starter debut @ Cincinnati, Orton wins the game on the final play of the game where a tipped pass lands in Brandon Stokely’s hands.
17-28, 243 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions
Broncos 12, Bengals 7
Tim Tebow – 12/19/10 @ Oakland Raiders
Perhaps the most polarizing quarterback change puts Tim Tebow at the helm of the Broncos. The Broncos didn’t let Tebow do a lot in this one but he still found the end zone twice in Oakland.
8-16, 138 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions
8 carries, 78 yards, 1 touchdown
Raiders 39, Broncos 23
Peyton Manning – 9/9/12 vs Pittsburgh Steelers
The mile high city was all smiles after Manning led the Broncos to a win against the Steelers who were looking for revenge from Tebow’s playoff miracle just months before.
19-26, 253 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Broncos 31, Steelers 19
Brock Osweiler – 11/22/15 @ Chicago Bears
The third quarterback on this list to make his debut on November 22nd. Osweiler managed everything the Broncos asked him to do very well today but as evidenced by this list, good starting debuts don’t always lead to longterm success for Broncos quarterbacks.
20/27, 250 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Broncos 17, Bears 15
