NEW ORLEANS — One of the more significant calls of the on Sunday came late in the third quarter, after quarterback Trevor Siemian threw his second interception and sustained a bevy of hits.
Coach Gary Kubiak benched right tackle Donald Stephenson and replaced him with Ty Sambrailo.
Siemian was pummeled in the win, taking six sacks and 11 quarterback hits. Per , Stephenson allowed two of those hits, plus four hurries on 31 pass-protection snaps.
“All I can say is it look like Donald struggled at times,” Kubiak said. “But we went into the game saying, ‘Ty, you’re going to play some.’ So let me go back and look at it. What we have to do is, collectively, get ourselves playing better and being on the same page. That’s nothing against Donald. That’s probably more Ty working his tail off and getting himself in position to contribute to the team. So we’ll see.”
Kubiak did not say if the switch will stay for the Broncos next game, against the Chiefs in Denver on Nov. 27. But it does create another issue to be sorted as the Broncos begin their bye week.
Denver signed Stephenson to a three-year, $14 million contract in March with the hope that his previous four years in Kansas City’s offense would translate well to the Broncos’ system. Stephenson started 21 games for the Chiefs and spent time at both tackle positions and left guard.
Despite winning the Super Bowl with its patchwork offensive line, the Broncos’ group wasn’t built for the long-haul; Ryan Clady was traded, Louis Vasquez was released, and Evan Mathis and Ryan Harris left as free agents.
But this season has offered more of the same: new faces, many more injuries, many of the same issues.
Sambrailo started in place of Stephenson for three games earlier in the season as he recovered from a calf injury. In those that time, Sambrailo, who had just returned from an elbow injury, allowed five sacks for a loss of 29 yards and was penalized for offensive holding twice.
