Trevor Siemian and Denver Broncos ruin Brock Osweiler's homecoming with NFL win over Houston Texans

Quarterback Trevor Siemian threw for a touchdown and guided four other scoring drives as the Broncos’ defence shutdown Brock Osweiler in his return to Denver in a 27-9 win over the Houston Texans on Monday night.

Siemian, the unlikely successor to the retired Peyton Manning after Osweiler who Manning’s four-year understudy in Denver, left to sign a free agent deal with Houston, overcame a sluggish start by the Broncos’ offence to complete 14 of 25 for 157 yards.

He threw four yards to Demaryius Thomas for a touchdown, while running backs CJ Anderson and rookie Devontae Booker finished two other drives with a seven and one yard scoring carries, respectively, as the Broncos bounced back from consecutive losses.

It was a sweet win as well for Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who returned from an illness that forced him to miss last week’s loss to the San Diego Chargers, and guided Denver (5-2) past the Texans, a team he used to coach.

Watch: Demaryius Thomas touchdown

Osweiler, who had a 5-2 record in place of the injured Manning before being benched in favour of the veteran late in Denver’s run to the Super Bowl last year, made virtually no headway against the Broncos’ defence.

He completed 22 of 41 for just 131 yards and failed to lead his team to the end zone and committed a costly turnover.

Late in the third quarter, with Denver ahead just 14-9, Siemian connected downfield with wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who made the catching falling backwards for a 31-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal at the two.

Two plays later, Booker bulled his way into the end zone from one yard out, extending the lead to 12 points.

On the ensuing Houston possession, Osweiler lost control of the ball as he cocked his arm to pass and the ball fluttered forward, and the fumble was recovered at the Houston 25-yard line by cornerback Chris Harris Jr, leading to a 22-yard field goal by Brandon McManus with 11:37 left.

Trailing by eight points at half-time, the Texans (4-3) drove down the field before stalling and settling for a third field goal by Nick Novak, this one a 29-yarder.

Houston climbed within 14-9 with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter.

Denver saw three productive offensive plays wiped out by holding calls, including a brilliant downfield catch by Demaryius Thomas before finally getting untracked to take a 14-6 half-time lead.