The Lead
A piece of history from Kendall Hinton's game at quarterback for the Broncos had made its way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame announced over the weekend that it had placed Hinton's wristband that he wore in the game on display in the "Pro Football Today Gallery" in its museum.
The practice squad receiver was forced into surprise duty as the team's only active quarterback in Week 12 after all four of the Broncos' players at the position were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Hinton, who began his college career at Wake Forest as a quarterback before changing position to receiver, had less than 24 hours to prepare for the opportunity after the quarterbacks were placed on the list the day before the game. He mounted a valiant effort against the then 8-2 Saints and completed one pass for 13 yards and ran twice for 7 yards, though the Broncos largely conducted their offense out of the wildcat formation with Phillip Lindsay or Royce Freeman.
Hinton's wristband is placed next to that of Tom Matte in the exhibit. Matte is the last non-quarterback to start at the position in an NFL game. (Technically, Hinton did not register as the team's starter for the game, as the team's first offensive play featured Lindsay and Melvin Gordon III in the wildcat).
Being bound by that history also moved Matte, as he wrote a letter to Hinton that you can read here.
Below the Fold
The Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran took a closer look at the Broncos’ game vs. Buffalo, and one of the things that caught my eye was how much Denver tried to bring pressure on Josh Allen — and how much he succeeded in spite of it. "The Broncos rushed five or more players on 22 of QB Josh Allen's 49 drop-backs (44.9% — the highest rate of the year)," O'Halloran wrote. "Allen was 11-of-17 passing for 142 yards and two rushing touchdowns against extra rushers."
