Denver Broncos: 5 players who must be better in week three

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DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 9: Wide receiver Brandon Marshall #15 of the Seattle Seahawks catches a touchdown pass under coverage by defensive back Bradley Roby #29 of the Denver Broncos in the third quarter of a game at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on September 9, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

2. Cornerbacks (all of them)

Let’s get a nice four-for-one here.

All of the Broncos’ top four cornerbacks have to be better. Whether it was scheme or otherwise, the cornerback play was terrible from Denver against the Raiders and nearly lost the team this game.

Let’s look at some of the numbers via Pro Football Focus, shall we?

Bradley Roby: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 68 yards (10 yards after the catch), 0 pass breakups

Tramaine Brock: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 43 yards (12 yards after the catch), 1 pass breakup

Pacman Jones: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 58 yards (42 yards after the catch), 0 pass breakups

Chris Harris Jr.: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 9 yards (1 yard after the catch), 0 pass breakups

Okay, so Chris Harris actually did pretty well.

But the other guys were really bad. Really bad.

The Broncos were playing off-man coverage and their self-proclaimed lack of aggressiveness in the early stages of the game set the tone for the rest of Jon Gruden’s offensive attack.

The off-man coverage did not work for the Broncos whatsoever, and the Raiders were able to get the ball out quickly to their receivers who had some level of success after the catch. At the very least, they made it incredibly difficult for the Broncos to get off the field quickly, especially in the first half.

Denver’s defense made plays when it needed to, but this was a forgettable performance by the corners aside from Harris.

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