Broncos Need To Avoid Letdown

The Denver Broncos are 2-0 and commence a usual week of preparation prior to a game against the Detroit Lions with a lead atop the AFC West and an additional few days to rest their wounds after a short week resulted in a 31-24 win against the Kansas City Chiefs September 17.

In that vein of thought, every week in the NFL is its own animal and amid the specter of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, the Broncos are the guests for the Lions in their home opener at raucous Ford Field in what should truly be an electric atmosphere.

Detroit is still trying to find their identity after a 26-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday after dropping to 0-2 but still has a potentially explosive offense with signal-caller Matthew Stafford and wideout Calvin Johnson as well as emerging star tight end Eric Ebron.

In the loss to the Vikings, Stafford was brutalized by the Minnesota defense, suffering a rib injury and per an article by Kyle Meinke of Michigan Live, his status for the Week 3 game against the Broncos is “uncertain.”

The Detroit media is among the best in the country, but Paula Pasche of The Oakland Press said Stafford was meeting with the press in the 4:00 pm EDT hour and no information was forthcoming, while Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press stated the Lions would not commit to playing Stafford Sunday.

In any case, the defense may be the biggest issue staring the Honolulu blue and silver in the face as they have given up 59 points (29.5) on the young season and have given up 416.5 yards per game to the Vikings and San Diego Chargers.

There are many possibilities for this, such as the departure of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to the Miami Dolphins via free agency and the injury to linebacker DeAndre Levy, who had a career-high 151 tackles last season, placing him second behind Carolina’s Luke Kuechly in the league.

Anyway, with all of this laid out, the Broncos need to execute and play the full 60 minutes to avoid a letdown as the Lions, in their first 22, still have sufficient, if not superior talent to Denver.

The first half at Kansas City and the ultimate narrow escape should serve as a significant reminder to the Broncos that nothing should be taken for granted, especially with Kansas City, San Diego and Oakland all at 1-1 at this stage.

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