Lammey: Simply put, Trevor Siemian needs to play better

The winless New York Giants, flying across the country for a primetime bout with a 3-1 squad coming off a Week 5 bye, turned the Denver Broncos offense one-dimensional on Sunday night.

The Giants shocked the NFL on Sunday Night Football in the Mile High City, beating the Broncos 23-10, largely due to rendering Denver’s rushing attack ineffective.

The Broncos struggled to run the ball with any sort of consistency, including running back C.J. Anderson gaining only 17 yards on nine carries (1.9 yards per carry average).

As a team, Denver only rushed for 46 yards (on 17 carries) against the Giants.

 

With the ground game stuck in neutral, quarterback Trevor Siemian had the opportunity to lead the Broncos to victory through the air.

Instead, Siemian threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown before he left the game near the end of the first half with an injury to his left shoulder.

Broncos head coach Vance Joseph said the team will know more about Siemian’s injury on Monday.

Following a return in the second half, Siemian finished with 50 attempts against the Giants for 376 yards passing. But it was all for naught, as Siemian tossed two interceptions and Demaryius Thomas had a fumble in an embarrassing loss on primetime television.

“When you have three turnovers, it’s hard to say you played well,” Joseph said. “… Turnovers are always tied to the quarterback, and that’s the key to success on offense — not turning the ball over.

“I would say with three turnovers, (it’s) probably not good.”

If the Broncos hope for a deep postseason run, then, simply put, Siemian needs to be better.

During his postgame press conference, Siemian described what he saw during those two interceptions, saying:

“The turnovers … that’s the story of the game, for us at least. The first one, I just tried to anticipate DT (Demaryius Thomas) rolling in there, threw it early, and the guy made a play. The second one, I tried to high-low a cloud corner. He squatted on it and obviously took it (to the end zone for a pick-six).”

In addition to throwing two crucial interceptions, Siemian seemed off target on throws that would’ve gone for big plays or touchdowns. Though he was harassed by the Giants defense — taking four sacks — there were times when the pocket was clear or he was rolling away from pressure and wasn’t able to hit receivers in stride.

Also, quarterbacks make their money on third down and in the red zone, and for a third week in a row, we’ve seen the Broncos struggle in both of those departments.

Against the Giants, the Broncos were 1-of-4 (25 percent) in the red zone and 5-of-17 (29 percent) on third downs.

They clearly weren’t at their best on Sunday night, and it comes down to Siemian needing to play better in critical moments.

As the season rolls on, opponents will try to replicate what New York. Basically, opposing defenses will stack the line to stuff the run and dare Siemian to beat them through the air.

If teams do that, Siemian must respond.

Giants safety Landon Collins was brutally honest when talking about how they were able to get to the Broncos quarterback.

“After the first three series, we got him kind of shook because he wasn’t expecting what we were doing,” Collins said. “We watched a lot of film. He was just holding it too long and not letting it go.”

Siemian is playing like a below-average quarterback.

And in the Mile High City — where legends like John Elway and Peyton Manning won championships — this Broncos team needs their starting quarterback to be better.

Follow @CecilLammey