As you may have learned from the WNUR Sports Twitter feed, despite advancing to the AFC Championship, the Denver Broncos have been making a crucial offensive mistake: They’ve been counting out former Northwestern quarterback “Touchdown Trevor” Siemian. Our Amit Malik (@upper90shot) explores a world where the Broncos made Touchdown Trevor their quarterback from day 1 using Madden 16:

Welcome to the greatest experiment in Northwestern Virtual History! I will attempt to take the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl in Madden 16 on All-Madden difficulty. The catch? My starting quarterback will be recent Northwestern graduate Trevor Siemian, and I’ve decided to only play the offensive snaps. Get ready for the ride.

A False Start.

In the first game against the Ravens, Trevor played decent enough to be down 27-21 with about three minutes left in the fourth quarter. He engineered a brilliant late drive getting down to the 7 yard line at the two minute warning. However, on the next play he scrambled away from pressure and made a dash for the end zone, only to be leveled at the one yard line. Turns out that would be Trevor’s last contribution to the Broncos’ season:

After restarting the season and (major key) turning injuries off, Trevor was ready to resume his campaign.

Trevor Turnovers:

Week 1: Ravens @ Broncos

• Trevor Siemian is bad in Madden. He can’t throw accurately more than 10 yards downfield.

• He singlehandedly dropped the Broncos’ overall team rating from 91 to 85 by his mere presence at starting QB.

• On the opening drive of the game, after starting 2 for 2, he threw a pick-six. In the bowels of NRG (Reliant) Stadium, Brian Hoyer smiled, knowing he wasn’t alone in his pursuit of infamy.

• On the ensuing kickoff return, the Broncos fumbled and the Ravens capitalized to take an early 14-0 lead.

• The Ravens entered halftime up 17-0. Trevor’s halftime stats were, well, it not good:

 

• Trevor then led the team on two straight touchdown drives including a massive screen pass to Ronnie “Jukes” Hillman:

• Down 20-14 with an opportunity to mount a clutch drive, Trevor threw his third interception of the day.
• Down 23-14, he threw another interception, before he finished with a garbage time touchdown. Here’s his final statline, with a wonderful passer rating of 42.4:

Final Score: Ravens 29, Broncos 21

A Tale of Two Trevors

Week 2: Broncos (0-1) @ Chiefs (0-1)

• Hurrah for good Trevor Siemian! On his first drive he went 4-4 for 55 yards and a TD (although 40 yards came from a WR screen to Demaryius Thomas). Brandon McManus clanked the extra point off the upright because Madden:

• Trevor Siemian is on fire. He led another touchdown drive:

• And his first half stats were impressive with a perfect passer rating:

• Trevor Siemian was 18-22 and about to throw for his third touchdown at the 7 yard line. Then he threw a pick-six to bring his yearly total to 2. Somewhere, after cryotherapy so he can continue to play at age 34, Matt Schaub poured one out for the rookie quarterback.

• The Broncos blocked the extra point, to keep the game within 7 at 20-13, again, because Madden.

• On the very next play from scrimmage, Trevor was strip-sacked, and the Chiefs returned the fumble for a touchdown to make the score 27-13. Why, Madden?

• The rest of the game was uneventful. What started as such a promising game crumbled for Trevor. He did finish with these stats, but virtual Broncos fans are wondering if he’s the right man for the job:

Final Score: Broncos 13, Chiefs 34

Trevor? Trevor.

Week 3: Broncos (0-2) @ Lions (1-1)

• The Lions stormed down the field and scored, and Trevor actually responded really well with a few deep passes. After two holding penalties (thanks offensive line!), and a Trevor three and out, Theo Riddick had a 64 yard run for a TD. 14-0.

• TD TREVOR RESPONDS! Throws this perfect strike to make it 14-7. Don’t count him out yet:

• The Broncos D has neglected to play pass defense and let up a 60 yard bomb to some scrub named Matthew Stafford. 21-7.

• Trevor saw the writing on the wall and decided to do something about it. He engineered a crazy drive before halftime and scored with a QB sneak. 21-14. Here’s the halftime stats, looks pretty legit:

• Oh wait, JK, the Broncos D is low key bad and let up a touchdown on a 20 second drive. It’s 28-14 before halftime, here’s the actual stats:

• Second half starts and Trevor is on the comeback trail! He has 2 (2?!) rushing touchdowns. 28-21. (editor’s note: don’t forget Trevor ran a 4.38 40-yard dash fam)

• Don’t call it a comeback, we been here for years! TD TREVOR engineered a game-tying drive with 5:54 left.

• 4:22 left. 28-28. Broncos on their 14. It Trevor Time.

• HE DID IT! HE DID IT! DO NOT COUNT THIS MAN OUT! Trevor led the Broncos down the field to give them a field goal with 35 seconds left on account of this dime:

• There is magic in the air at Ford Field! Trevor’s final stats + 2 rushing TDS: 

Final Score: Broncos 31, Lions 28

#TrevorFast

Week 4: Vikings (1-2) @ Broncos (1-2)

• Fans in Denver caught a glimmer of hope last week with Trevor Siemian. Now they want more.
• Trevor responded to the fans and gave them exactly what they wanted. He led a touchdown drive down the field and capped it off by waltzing into the endzone. An auspicious start for TD Trevor. 7-0:

• Trevor is playing like a good quarterback! After a defensive stop, he led a 73 yard drive that he capped off with this admittedly lucky touchdown throw. 14-0. Did somebody say beatdown??

• The Vikings responded to make it 14-7. BUT TREVOR IS ON FIRE!!!! Look at this perfect pass. *extreme Jim Nantz voice* This man is having a special day. 21-7.

• Ok, so maybe it’s a shootout. The Vikings made it 21-14 with 1:31 left in the half. BUT TD TREVOR IS ALSO TIME MANAGEMENT TREVOR. He led another perfect drive down the field and made it 28-14 with this gem:

• Well, the refs don’t like fun and called a booth review. and that play was actually down at the one. MOBILE TREVOR ALERT, Trevor just ran in a QB sneak. You don’t even need a highlight. 28-14, for real.
• Just look at these halftime stats. Trevor has ascended to another level. Keep in mind he has 2 rushing TDs.

• While the city of Denver was busy anointing Trevor Siemian a worthy starting quarterback, Trevor Siemian had other ideas. Down to the 8 yard line about to engineer another great drive, he threw a pick-six, his third of the season in four games. Somewhere in the Louisiana Bayou, after selling another racehorse, Jake Delhomme shed a tear for Trevor Siemian. He knows how quickly the media will turn on him.

• Trevor looked he was going to shake it off and he drove to the 10 yard line. Then he threw another pick in the end zone. At least it wasn’t a pick-six.

• At the least Broncos defense is clearly playing for Trevor. They pick off Teddy two plays later.

• Trevor is finishing this game strong! He throws a perfectly timed pass to make it 35-21. It’s not over yet, but it looks like Trevor actually just handed it to the Viking’s defense (ignore the interceptions).

• After the Vikings made it 35-28, Trevor engineered a clutch drive with 3 minutes left that saw 4 big first downs to close out the clock. Do you hear that? If you listen carefully, the virtual Broncos fans are rejoicing in the streets. Broncos win. Two games in a row. Watch out NFL, Trevor is coming.

• Here are Trevor’s stats from the game. Not bad. (Also had 2 rushing touchdowns!)

Final Score: Vikings 28, Broncos 35.

After 4 weeks in charge, the Broncos are a respectable 2-2 with Trevor Siemian under center. Who would have thought? (editor’s note: we would’ve) They’re streaking and head into Week 5 against an 0-4 Raiders team. Trevor has played so well his Confidence level is at 80, which has boosted his overall rating to a (mediocre? paltry? serviceable?) 70.

Through 4 games, Trevor’s, 1,235 passing yards are good for 3rd in the NFL. His 10 passing touchdowns are second in the NFL. His overall passer rating of 87.9 is 16th. His 7 interceptions are also the 3rd most. Long live Trevor Siemian.

TO BE CONTINUED…