Winning isn’t always pretty. If it wasn’t for one of the best quarters of football we’ve seen from the Denver Broncos this season, their playoff hopes would likely have been looking dim.
But this scrappy young team just doesn’t give up and Broncos Country is loving every second of it.
But it wasn’t an easy win by any means. Their chances were honestly looking quite grim for most of the game with the Indianapolis Colts coming out and giving the Broncos more than they could handle.
This team has some serious flaws. The run game is one of the worst in the league. Our cherished rookie quarterback’s play has been quite shaky over the past two games. And our defense looks completely different without both of its starting cornerbacks on the field.
Offense
At this point, we all need to just collectively roll our eyes when Sean Payton says anything about the running game. It is in shambles. The blocking isn’t dominating so it is relying on the running backs to be impactful and they just aren’t.
Also, we returned to many play calls where it is 3rd and long and we’re trying to throw a quick screen or flat route barely at the line of scrimmage which is just too easy for a zone-based team like the Colts to stop.
This film should be super telling for both our opponents and our quarterback room as the Colts were largely mystifying young Bo Nix with the defenses they presented.
It just didn’t seem to me that Payton had enough answers to the questions that the Colts defense presented.
Quarterbacks
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Bo Nix had a pretty inept looking game plain and simple. Yes, he threw 3 touchdowns. Thank goodness for our Special Teams and Defense for putting him a great position to get some easy scores.
His first interception was as brain-dead of a throw as we’ve seen from any of our quarterbacks over the past 9 seasons. The defender that picked the pass was easily in the line of sight and Nix either didn’t see him or didn’t think he could get the pass.
His 2nd interception was just an awful overthrow to a player who had 3 guys around him. It honestly looked like a forced rookie throw to me.
Finally, his 3rd interception was just icing on the cake of a steaming pile of crap. Nix stared down his route the whole way allowing the safety to make the easiest interception of his life.
Zone defenses have given Nix some trouble at times this season. It may just be Bo Nix’s Achilles heel, though I’d say that it is a solvable problem. Once Nix gets more in synch with the timing of his throws and can rely on his targets to be on time in their routes, he’s the exact kind of quarterback who has the skills to carve up teams that go heavy zone.
But let’s end on a positive note with our beloved rookie: this guy didn’t give up. One of the big differences between all the scrubs in the past 9 years that have led our teams and this quarterback is clearly his level of determination.
It was that determination that had him let loose those 3 touchdowns and help this team pull away for such a big victory in front of the home crowd.
Line
The game was up and down for this offensive line as well. They gave up a sack and a couple of hits in the passing game. The run blocking was a mixed bag as well. While I saw holes for the backs, they didn’t last long enough or our backs were too slow to hit them in time.
At the end of the day, 2.7 yards per carry isn’t it. And while I can easily point to the head coach for the choice of who’s getting the carries, the line has a part to play in this team’s running failures as well.
Running Backs
I want to see what Audric Estime can do in a starting role. I know that a lot of good backs I’ve watched over the years get in a groove with more touches. While he didn’t do anything to write home about in this game, I honestly feel like Estime is an unknown that needs a chance.
On the other hand, Javonte Williams is still running poorly. Even on a catch out of the backfield in the 3rd quarter, he was unable to do anything to gain yardage with two blockers in front of him. He looks darn near pedestrian on the field of play and it is a detriment to the team as the touches we give him are just wasted plays.
Jaleel McLaughlin plays great as a change-up guy when you have a starter who is grinding out yards or when your line holds open a nicely sized gap for him to get out in space where he can use his quickness to gain yards. He’s been the most consistent runner for this team all year and even then he only rushed for an average of 3 yards per carry.
Receivers
Photo by Kevin Langley/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Nate Adkins finally showed the team how to catch a ball in the 3rd quarter and then showed the running backs how to break tackles, too. His touchdown could not have come at a better time.
Courtland Sutton dropped too many balls in this game. The one that hurt the most was on 3rd and 11 where Sutton had the 1st down and completely muffed the catch. He mostly will be remembered for a gorgeous touchdown to close the game out on a stop and go route that the defender stumbled on, but there’s work to be done by our #1 WR for sure. He was targeted 9 times and only caught 3.
Speaking of tight ends, Adam Trautman also got 20 yards on 2 catches with a touchdown. It makes me wonder if Nix needs to work more on those tight end routes as a way to have more success against zone.
Defense
Honestly, this defense was like Jekyll and Hyde. In the first half they couldn’t seem to get off the field on 3rd and long to save their lives. I saw a lot of really poor tackling angles and lack of wrapping up. They gave up all 13 of the Colt’s points in the first half.
Luckily they also know a thing or two about never giving up. As the game wore on, the defense finally dialed into what the Colts were doing and just flat-outplayed them. I also noticed an uptick in blitzes in the second half that were successful in forcing Richardson to rush his throws.
Front 7
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Nik Bonitto had the play of the game with a pick-6 on a designed trick play that didn’t trick him at all. He’s playing at an elite level for this defense as a play making edge rusher. He was in on 5 tackles, had a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit to go along with his interception that goes into the books as a fumble recovery due to it being a backwards pass.
Zach Allen is working on getting back to his disruptive self as he had 4 quarterback hits on the day. He’s a workhorse of a player, but I can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t be better to give him fewer snaps given that we have strong rotational players for our interior line that are showing that they are capable of being disruptive as well.
Dondrea Tillman only got 24 snaps in the game, but I noticed him making the most of them when he was able to rotate in for us. He ended the game with 3 tackles, 1 sack, and a tackle for loss on the day which isn’t too shabby for a OLB backing up the likes of Cooper and Bonitto.
Secondary
Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
Pat Surtain II gets lauded for being such a good corner but hardly gets seen from game to game because of it. That wasn’t the case in this game as he showed off perfect coverage on a curl. He broke on the ball with perfect timing and forced the incomplete for one of his two pass defenses on the day. Late in the 4th quarter, he helped the Colts’ misery campaign with an interception on what looked like a pretty lazy route to me.
Kris Abrams-Draine may be a rookie, but he looked far better than whatever it was that we trotted out last game at corner by a fair margin. He had a great play in the 4th quarter to break up a pass on 4th and 6. I was keeping any eye on him when I noticed his number and he was constantly in good position.
Brandon Jones had another phenomenal game with 3 pass defenses, 9 tackles (leading the team), and an interception on the day. He’s one of the big factors in how well this defense can play and he’s really settling into his role here in Denver.
Special Teams
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Marvin Mims, Jr. was an absolute rock star for our special teams unit in this game. He got the Broncos just shy of 100 yards gained in return yards and was a big reason for the lop-sided win. To be fair, it wasn’t all daisies, though. In the first half he fair caught a ball that he had a very large cushion to work with that he should have returned.
Wil Lutz also needs a shout-out as he’s been one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL this season. He aced a 50+ yard field goal and knocked in all four of his extra-point attempts.
The return coverage did break down on one punt with the Colts getting a 36-yard return due to some pretty poor angles of attack (helped a bit with an uncalled block in the back to be fair).
Final Thoughts
I can not overstate how important this win was for the Broncos. Their next three games all look daunting and the playoff race is tight. Beating the Colts buried one of their main wild card opponents in the race.
Now with one more win, this team could be going to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season.
We’re looking to play spoiler this week to the Los Angeles Chargers and I’m honestly loving our chances. The Broncos in the past two games are playing a high level of complimentary football. All three phases of the game are contributing, feeding off each other, and setting up the team overall for success.
This is the right time of year for that kind of success, honestly. Hopefully the team continues to build momentum and feed on each other to finish this season off on a high note.