Brock Osweiler completed 20 of 27 pass attempts for 250 yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos’ win over the Bears. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
Brock Osweiler’s first NFL start went about as well as one could hope. Playing on his 25th birthday, the fourth-year quarterback started in place of the injured Peyton Manning and led the Broncos to a 17-15 victory over the Bears in Chicago, completing 20 of 27 pass attempts for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
Osweiler brought Gary Kubiak’s zone-blocking, stretch run offense to life in the win, as the Broncos recorded 170 of their 389 net offensive yards on the ground. And he did it all while not turning the ball over once, a first for the Broncos’ offense this season.
Osweiler’s teammates praised him for his performance Sunday, and Kubiak awarded him the game ball that evening in Chicago.
On Wednesday, the league acknowledged his performance, too.
Osweiler was named the AFC’s Player of the Week, the first such honor of his career and the first offensive honor for a Broncos player this year. Defensive end Derek Wolfe, kicker Brandon McManus, safety T.J. Ward and cornerback Aqib Talib have also received conference player of the week honors this seasons, and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware received player of the month honors for September.
“First time out in four years as a starter. He’s had an opportunity to come up the right way and get to learn from a great player,” Kubiak said Sunday. “You can see some of the benefit of that today, it did not look like a guy with his first time out.”
Osweiler became the first quarterback drafted by the Broncos since Kubiak in 1983 to earn a victory in his first start with the team. His 127.1 rating and 250 yards also rank second to only Manning for the highest in team history in both categories for a player his first start.
