TAMPA, Fla. _ Before the heavens opened and Florida's weather unloaded a storm that spit and spun like something from the Book of Revelation, the Broncos confirmed what should be gospel by now: the Denver quarterback's final act will be a kneel-down.
No matter which direction Gary Kubiak chooses to go _ toward Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch _ the Broncos hardly are living on a prayer. The Broncos are so good and so deep everywhere else, they needn't fret about a jumbled quarterback spot like every other team in the NFL would. Take Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, for example.
The Broncos built a 14-7 lead against a desperate Bucs team with Siemian at quarterback.
The starter injured his non-throwing shoulder on a hard hit, and the backup, Lynch, extended the lead until it finally ended with another kneel-down and 27-7 final score. (Three kneel-downs in four games, and the other ended in a Von Miller sack.)
In between it rained cats and dogs, and I think a few palm trees blew across the soggy turf, until the Broncos were left in the same place they were a year ago: With the best team in the league, the AFC's top record (4-0) and quarterback questions that keep sports-talk hosts employed but ultimately won't determine if they can win another Super Bowl or not.
"It's not about the quarterback position," wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said, perfectly.
Here's where I come down, more than slightly premature: I would take Siemian over half the current starters in the NFL, but Lynch has the rare kind of physical gifts you can build everything else around. Judging by the quarterback attrition bubbling up around the league, the Broncos would be smart to continue bringing along both. If last year's shuffle between Peyton Manning and Bronco Osweiler is any indication, they will need both.
If Siemian is healthy _ "Trevor said: 'Yes, I can go back in,' " Kubiak recalled after the game _ I would feel wholly comfortable with Siemian or Lynch at quarterback against the Atlanta Falcons (3-1) at Sports Authority Field next Sunday. But every member of Broncos Country should be dancing a happy dance after what they saw from Lynch in his professional debut.
I've seen the future, and it stands 6-foot-7, 245 pounds and shaves his facial hair in a funny way. After an 84-minute delay made you wonder if Hurricane Matthew had sped up and turned west, the teams did not return to the puddled field aboard the ship that booms cannons at one end of the stadium. The pirate already had arrived. One week after Siemian was named AFC offensive player of the week, Lynch went 14 of 24 for 170 yards and a lobbed touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders. Sweet debut, kid. Demaryius Thomas welcomed the first-round pick by launching the touchdown ball into the stands, where it was recovered from a lovely lady and returned to Lynch as a prized memento.
"I'm usually throwing all the balls into the stands, even my balls," Thomas said.
Lynch is 22 and would be the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL. I don't think that matters, but there you go. He never had been in the position of attending the podium after an NFL game, so he asked the public relations staff if he should wear a suit coat or not.
"I've been preparing like I was going to be playing from the first preseason game," Lynch said.
Two subtle developments suggest the Broncos are willing to roll with the rookie sooner rather than later: Kubiak and John Elway had a discussion about Lynch's readiness before the game Sunday, and Kubiak trusted Lynch with play-calling straight from Manning's 2013 playbook. Instead of sitting on a touchdown lead inside the 2-minute warning, Kubiak ordered eight passing plays from Lynch. (They must like what they've seen in practice.) On his first drive as a pro, Lynch marched the Broncos down the field for a field goal.
Lynch slung it deep, one of the few aspects of Siemian's storybook start that had been missing. But Lynch's timing is not yet on the level of Siemian's, and against better defenses, that matters.
In Lynch's first quarter of action, here's how the statistics panned out. Total plays: Denver 23, Tampa Bay 6. Time of possession: Denver 11:25, Tampa Bay 3:35. Total Yards: Denver 92, Tampa Bay minus-4. First downs: Denver 7, Tampa Bay 0.
"He came in the huddle and took over like any other quarterback would," Thomas said.
The Kansas City Chiefs literally have waited decades for the kind of dilemma the Broncos have encountered in back-to-back Sundays: One quarterback throwing four touchdowns in his first road game, another who scores a 94.1 rating in his debut, also a road game.
While the talking heads quarrel over which quarterback should start, it's smart to recognize the Broncos themselves are developing into the perfect storm. The defense added three more turnovers and five more sacks and again looked like big brother picking on little brother. The coaches saw the weather report and had the Broncos practice with soggy footballs back in Denver, while also becoming the first team since the 1986 Bears to win six straight games with four different quarterbacks. The offense switched from one quarterback to another and tripled the margin. Not even weather of biblical proportions, rocking Tampa like a hurricane, could slow the Broncos.
"We'll just come in the locker room and chill for a bit and go back out there and kick some (butt)," lineman Derek Wolfe said.
The question after the latest turn of quarterback drama isn't which one should start.
It's this: Who's going to beat these guys?
