Maybe it’s a good thing Broncos fans aren’t calling the shots when it comes to picking the starting quarterback.
On Monday night, we posted a halftime poll question in our Gametracker live blog, asking fans who they thought should start for the Broncos at quarterback next week against San Diego.
At the time, the Broncos were losing 14-3, but starting quarterback Brock Osweiler played a decent first half. He was 7-of-8 passing for 89 yards and a 113.0 quarterback rating.
However, the initial surge of votes overwhelmingly favored Peyton Manning to start against San Diego. I didn’t get screengrab of this, so you’ll have to trust me, but by the time the third quarter started, Manning had about a 65 percent vote, Trevor Siemian had about 33 percent of the vote and Osweiler had about 12 percent.
As Osweiler rallied the Broncos to victory, his numbers began to rise. By the end of the game, Manning was at 64 percent, Osweiler 18 percent and Siemian 18 percent.
Poll results from The Denver Post’s live Gametracker blog showed overwhelming support for Peyton Manning as the Broncos starting QB. (The Denver Post)
Osweiler’s final stat line: 27-of-39 passing for 299 yards, a touchdown and a 100.3 quarterback rating. And of course he had helped the Broncos clinch a playoff spot.
Once the game was over, we decided to post the same poll question on our sports page, but we reset the tallies to zeros across the board and started fresh.
As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Osweiler led the post-game vote with 58 percent to Manning’s 36 percent and Siemian’s 5 percent.
Poll results on the Denver Post’s sports page, posted after the Broncos clinched a playoff spot with a comeback win over the Bengals. (The Denver Post)
It is important to note, these polls are highly unscientific, but the results are interesting at the very least. And I think it’s safe to say, Broncos fans like a winner.
Maybe next time we’ll make Tim Tebow a poll option…just to see what would happen.
To vote in this poll, go to denverpost.com/sports.
