Trevor Siemian a placeholder? Not so fast

When it comes to Broncos fans, Trevor Siemian’s leash is shorter than Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kris Humphries. At least it was going into Sunday. After his latest performance, the relationship might be heading for at least Kim and Kanye territory, if not Beyonce and Jay Z.

It should be noted that the Birkenstocks-and-socks-wearing quarterback might not know who any of those people are, and it feels like a large number of people take issue with the fact that, until he put on an orange uniform, they didn’t know who he was.

Nobody lets a present sit under the Christmas tree for a whole year. Many in Broncos Country want to see their shiny first-round pick, and they want him now. On Sunday, those cries became louder and more bountiful when Siemian threw some shaky passes in the first half. He got lucky, some might say, as the Bengals dropped two interceptions on the Broncos final possession of the half.

The first-year starter took those blessings, though, and he turned them into points. An absolutely perfect pass to Emmanuel Sanders on an out route capped off the drive and gave the Broncos the lead. The sequence was a massive turning point in the game and maybe in the career of the young passer.

In the second half, Gary Kubiak’s passing project came out with utter confidence, slinging two more touchdowns with the game very much in the balance. When all was said and done, Siemian was the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in his first road start.

As the Broncos have jumped out to a 3-0 start, Siemian has out-performed guys by the name of Cam Newton, Andrew Luck and Andy Dalton. Dare I say Dragon-slayer?

“Trevor played outstanding,” Emmanuel Sanders said of his quarterback. “Obviously, going in, nobody really knew about him, but now everybody’s starting to talk about him. Demaryius and I have said multiple times that he’s calm, cool and collected.

“Even today, in the fourth quarter, you should have seen him in the huddle,” he added. “The guy came in and took command. He was confident. Even on the deep ball to Demaryius he said, ‘Hey, we’re about to go for the gut.’ What a day for him, four touchdowns, 300 yards, that’s amazing.”

No, he isn’t the 6-foot-6 athletic freak. No, he isn’t a charismatic media darling. No, he isn’t perfect. He’s also not a placeholder. He’s the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos until further notice, and that notice might just be getting further and further away.

“We’ve been waiting for it. We’ve been waiting for the offense to finish the game, and they finished today,” Chris Harris Jr. said. “That’s a huge step forward for our team to do that on the road versus a playoff-contending team every year. You’ve got to attribute that to the offense. They did a great job today, and that’s what we need.”

Harris, that defense and anybody that follows the Broncos knows that wait he’s talking about stretches far beyond the first three games of this season. Although the quarterback himself says it’s “hats off” to his receivers and his offensive line, the tipped caps should be directed at him. Siemian went out and won the game today, and that’s one heck of a step forward.

“We know we have a good young quarterback who’s on a good team, and this was a great sign today,” Kubiak said. “He came into a tough environment, handled himself very well and played big. . . To come in here and do that in his first [road game]. He was very composed, I’ve told you all that, that’s a strength of his.”

They have a good young quarterback, they likely have two, what’s so bad about that? Trevor Siemian could be around here for a while; it might be time to sit back, grab a cold one and enjoy it.