Woody Paige: QB showdown on Monday night will showcase past, present and future of Broncos

Brockweiler vs. Siemynch?

Who you got?

Before late in the fourth quarter Sunday night, the answer had to be Siemynch – also known as the combination of Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch with the Broncos over Brock Osweiler, the erstwhile Broncos’ quarterback and current Texans QB.

But you might have to rethink that response after the game and prior to the Broncos-Texans game upcoming matchup on Monday Night Football.

Brock threw two touchdown passes in less than two minutes and brought the Texans to tie the Colts at 23-all with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, and set up the winning field goal in overtime. Osweiler ended up outplaying the famed Andrew Luck, and Houston is 4-2 on the season. The Brock rally was reminiscent of last season when he led the Broncos to an overtime victory over the Patriots.

Siemynch also is 4-2, although Siemian owns a 4-1 record in his first season as a starter.  He looked injured and tentative in the Broncos’ loss to the Chargers Thursday night.

So, who you got in Houston-Denver?

Well, it won’t be Lynch vs. Osweiler, and it will be Osweiler vs. Siemian.  If the Texans had fallen at home to the Colts, there was some swelling belief that the Wizard of Os would be replaced as the starter against the Broncos, spoiling the game everyone in Denver, and America, wants to see on a Monday night.

Is Osweiler 'Os good,' as he was against the Colts, or 'Os bad', as he was against New England when the team lost 27-0 and a similar outing against Minnesota at 31-13?  Brock Lobster knows this Broncos’ defense, but, heh-heh, the Broncos’ defense certainly knows all the ins and outs, ups and downs of the once-upon-a-time Broncos backup and, briefly, starter before Peyton Manning returned at the end of the season.  Brock was not happy and took his ball to Houston for fame and fortune.

Would you rather have Brock this year or the Siemynch duo?

Truth, is, nobody really knows, not even the Broncos brass. It's still a bit early in the process.  Would Brock be 4-2, 5-1 or 1-5 with the Broncos?  Would a healthy Siemian be 6-0?  What would Paxton have done?  Peyton?

Let’s do the Osweiler-Siemynch statistical comparison:

Brock has completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,402 yards with eight touchdown and an equal number of interceptions. He is averaging 6.2 yards per pass attempt.  He has been sacked 12 times.

His Texans are first in the AFC South.

Trevor has completed 64.9 percent of his passes and Paxton 62.7. They have a cumulative total of 1.447 yards (1,054 by Siemian) and nine touchdowns with four interceptions.  On what is considered an important stat among NFL quarterbacks, Lynch was 6.7 yards per pass attempt, and Siemian is 7.0. They have been sacked 17 times in six games.

As the wounded knight who has lost both arms and legs in the duel in “Spamalot’’ says, "we’ll consider it a draw’’.

Slight edge, actually, to Siemynch. Together, they would rank 13^th and Osweiler on the list of NFL quarterback yardage rankings. None of the three would rank in the top 10 in the league, but all three would certainly rate over, say, Jay Cutler, RG3, Colin Kaepernick, Ryan Fitzpatrick and even the defending NFL MVP CAM at this juncture.

Where are we, then?

If Brock comes back to Denver and beat his ex-team, and the Texans are 5-2 and stay in contention to be the best team in a horrible division, then everyone in Houston would not call him the worst off-season free agent – as many in Texas and parts unknown were saying at halftime Sunday night.  However, if Brock stinks up the joint, and Trevor plays as he did against Cincinnati, everyone in Denver will be saying that John Elway made the right decision to not go all-in Osweiler.  

If Trevor has an odor on Monday night, the controversy at a mile high will continue to swirl. Brock, Trevor, Paxton. I still like Dak Prescott. I’m not Woody-come-lately. I wrote many months ago that the Broncos should draft the Mississippi State quarterback in the second round. Now, there is Dakamania in Dallas, and the question there is:  Prescott or Romo?

By the way, I respect my former colleague at The Denver Post, but Mark Kiszla has cap on backward and is wrong to believe that the Cowboys ever would trade Romo for Siemian, and the Broncos wouldn’t make that deal, either. Elway doesn’t want to have another aging quarterback at Dove Valley.

So, Monday night will be fun, and that’s what sport is supposed to be about. Who you got? I got the Broncos 30-20 over the Texans. Not Siemynch over Brockweiler. I got Orange defense defense over Os.