Denver Broncos By The Numbers, 3-0 Edition
Sep 23, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos fan with a horse mask on during the game against the Oakland Raiders at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Raiders 37-21. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Broncos are the hottest team in the NFL right now, despite the fact that there are six other undefeated teams. I don’t think any team is firing on all cylinders offensively like Denver, and this is a day and age in the NFL when that’s arguably the most important thing.
Not only are the Broncos dominating offensively, they are also controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and are playing some of the best special teams I’ve seen in a long time.
Here are some important numbers to remember as it pertains to the Broncos and their players.
1,143, 73.0, 12, 0, 134.7
Do those numbers mean anything to you? Those are the numbers for the league leader in passing yards, completion percentage, touchdowns, interceptions, and passer rating.
All of those right now belong to Peyton Manning.
It’s not unlike what you might see in a video game.
83-19; 87-19; 88-20
Wes Welker and Eric Decker each have 19 receptions on the year, while Demaryius Thomas leads the Broncos with 20. There were a lot of concerns coming into the season that the Broncos wouldn’t have enough balls to go around (LOL) but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Thomas and Decker have each been targeted a total of 28 times, while Welker has been targeted 27. The Broncos’ elite trio of receivers is not only getting plenty of looks each game, they are also helping each other get more involved and open in the offense.
191
Return specialist Trindon Holliday leads the NFL in punt return yardage through the first three games with 191. He is averaging 17.4 yards on 11 returns, which is tops in the NFL for players with 10 or more returns.
76.2%
We all know that Matt Prater is one of the highest paid kickers in the NFL today, but we can’t say he’s not deserving of it. Aside from being one of the best kickoff specialists in the league, Prater leads the NFL all-time with a career percentage of 76.2 from 50 yards or beyond.
I’ve yet to see Prater kick a 70-yarder like he did at training camp in a game, but the guy has a huge leg. And he’s absolutely money. Prater is also the Broncos’ all-time leader (right now) in field goal percentage at 79.7 percent and is 5-for-5 this season.
486.7
The Broncos are first in the NFL in total yardage at 486.7 yards per game. The second highest? The Philadelphia Eagles, who come to town this Sunday off of a Thursday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in week three.
43.3
The Broncos lead the NFL in rush defense, holding teams to 43.3 yards per game. They stymied the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night football, and they have a whole other beast coming to town in week four with the NFL’s new lead rushing attack–LeSean McCoy and Mike Vick, who are averaging 209 rushing yards per game.
6
The Broncos are tied for first in the NFL with six interceptions as a team. Boom.
31
The Broncos lead the NFL with 31 passes broken up, and cornerback Tony Carter–who suffered an injury against the Raiders–leads the league among individual players with eight pass breakups. The next closest team is Kansas City, who has 23.
100-40
This is the combined score of the last three Broncos-Raiders games, in which the Broncos are obviously 3-0.