Trevor Siemian Quickly Makes Name For Himself

CINCINNATI (The Sports Xchange) - Each week, Trevor Siemian answers more questions. And with each of his four touchdown passes on Sunday, you could almost see the Denver Broncos quarterback's anonymity fading.

"Going in, nobody really knew about him," said Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders. "Now everybody's talking about him."

In his first two starts since taking the starting quarterback job for the Denver Broncos -- who last year won a Super Bowl behind future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning -- Siemian passed for 444 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions while becoming the 11th Broncos' quarterback to win his first two career starts.

But those games were played in the comforts of Mile High, and with the Broncos relying more heavily on the running game.

It was a decidedly different story on Sunday when Siemian made his first career road start before more than 63,000 fans at Paul Brown Stadium, against a formidable Cincinnati Bengals defense, and with little semblance of a running game.

But with the Broncos trailing 17-16 late in the second half, Siemian took control, going 11-of-12 down the stretch and finishing with a quarterback rating of 132.1.

"Me and Demaryius (Thomas) have said several times, that he's always calm, cool, and collected," said Sanders. "In the fourth quarter, you should have saw him. The guy came in and took command of the huddle. He was confident. We definitely believe in him."

Now the rest of the NFL is beginning to believe in Siemian, especially after he went 23-of-35 for 312 yards and four touchdowns in a 29-17 victory on Sunday at Cincinnati.

Siemian, who was selected by the Broncos in the seventh round of the 2015 draft, earned the starting job during training camp after Manning retired and Brock Osweiler departed for Houston. He beat out offseason acquisition Mark Sanchez.

Now he's only the third quarterback in Broncos franchise history to start his career 3-0.

"I think it's just a testament to our team," Siemian said. "We have a really good team, a really resilient group."

It doesn't hinder Siemian's development, of course, to have receivers like Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, and an overall solid roster around him.

"I'm leaning on those guys a lot," Siemian said.

But Sunday was another step in his growth. Particularly in the fourth quarter with the game not yet in hand, when Siemian came into the huddle and said 'We're going for the gusto' before tossing a 55-yard TD pass to Thomas to seal the victory with four minutes left. Like the Broncos, at crunch time, he was at his best.

While three games does not make a career, the secret's out on Siemian.

"We know we have a good young quarterback," said Broncos coach Gary Kubiak. "He came into a tough environment, handled himself very well and played big. It was a great outing. I don't think you get too carried away."