By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos enter the bye week at 7-3. They are third in the AFC West, a half game behind both the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. This is the toughest division in all of the NFL. What has gone right and what has gone wrong with the Broncos to this point?
When the season started, I was not worried about the defense. I knew the Broncos’ defense could sack the opponent’s quarterback and would limit their opportunities to score. The Broncos defense has been a bright spot. They lead the league in passing defense, with 194.3 pass yards per game. Denver allows 18.9 points per game with which is 9th in the league. They have sacked the quarterback 29 times this year second only to the Buffalo Bills with 30. The Broncos are doing an excellent job of putting pressure on the quarterbacks. That pressure is creating turnovers. Denver has 10 interceptions so far this year.
The one area they must improve on the rest of the season is the run defense. They are giving up 123.7 rush yards per game, which is 28th in the league. It seems teams are just running the ball at will. When Denver lines up to stop the run, the offensive line pushes their defensive line back creating a hole. Those runs end up being first downs or longer. Denver must be more aggressive up front and limit the long runs.
The biggest question mark coming into the season was the offensive line. I knew they had playmakers at wide receiver in Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. The question was, could the line protect Trevor Siemian so that he could have enough time to throw the football? The offensive line isn’t doing their job protecting the quarterback. They have allowed 26 sacks and 61 quarterback hits. The sacks are 4th most in the NFL. When Siemian drops back to pass, there is always a pass rush coming at him forcing him to throw the ball earlier than he wants to. Other times there is not enough time for Siemian to throw the football and takes the sack.
The offensive line hasn’t been able to create holes for the running backs. The Broncos rush for 97.4 yards per game. This has forced them to be more of a passing team. Teams are not respecting the rushing attack. They can sit back and wait for the Broncos to pass the football.
During the bye week, the Broncos must address the offensive line and allow Siemian to throw the football and not get hit as much. Hopefully, that will also open the running game. The running game will take the pressure off of Siemian. The Broncos are in decent shape to make the playoffs and win the AFC West.
What do you think about the Broncos heading into the bye week?
Leave a Reply