DENVER — It was the darndest thing.
During an individual drill Thursday afternoon at Broncos practice, the inside and outside linebackers borrowed No. 3 quarterback Ben DiNucci from the offense. The Broncos are playing against a left-handed quarterback this Sunday in Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa, who leads the NFL with 715 passing yards through two games.
DiNucci, a right-handed throwing quarterback, was throwing left-handed passes to his linebackers in sort of an interception drill. You know, to give them the reverse spin action.
He can throw the ball 40 yards left-handed.
“Not accurate, but I like to entertain myself every once in a while, and Tua’s lefty, so I figured I’d do it for the drill to give those guys a realistic look and have some fun with it,’’ DiNucci said at his locker.
Tua has thrown two interceptions in two games this year. Maybe the Broncos can make it three with a little help from DiNucci.
“I’ve always been able to do it,’’ he said about throwing left-handed. “I don’t really know how it started. I think I was just messing around one day. Couldn’t do it very well and just kind of kept doing it.”
Right-handed, DiNucci completed 21 of 31 in three preseason games for 187 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, which computes to an impressive 105.2 passer rating. His fine play earned him a spot on the Broncos’ practice squad. He flipped about 10 left-handed throws to his linebackers during the drill.
“I would never try it against a real, 11-man defense out there, no way,’’ DiNucci said. “I’d get intercepted every time.’’
Wait a minute – the Chiefs’ right-handed Patrick Mahomes once famously completed a left-handed pass against the Broncos as Von Miller was diving from behind to bring him down. Mahomes’ left-handed pass has been shown frequently in subsequent features, along with all the other trick throws he’s made in live game action.
“I’ll go behind-the-back Chiefs’ week,’’ DiNucci said. “I’ll pull out all the stops for Pat.”
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