Broncos’ Offense
An offense that was concerning last week simply looked like a joke Thursday night. They failed to reach 250 yards of total offense, and mustered up just 71 rushing yards, eventually abandoning the run game altogether in favor of a passing attack that was just as ineffective.
There was a concern when the Broncos could not put together a scoring drive in the 16-0 shutout of the Tennessee Titans. However, they could at least muster up enough points to win that game.
After scoring on the opening possession, the Broncos only put together one more significant drive, that would only end in a missed field goal attempt by Brandon McManus. The offense has already relied on McManus too much throughout the season, which may be coming back to haunt them.
It was once again proven that the Broncos are likely the worst team in the league on third down, converting just one the entire game. The offense was so stagnant and pass protection was so bad that it made a Kansas City defense that has been considered to be pretty bad look like one of the best pass rushes in the league.
Broncos’ Playcalling
The coaching staff is under fire once again after poor play design and questionable play calls were just another thorn in the side of the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, when everything seemed to go downhill after the failed two-point conversion on the opening drive, one of the many head-scratching calls from Fangio throughout the night.
A dreadfully bad fake punt on 4th down brought some deja-vu to Benjamin Allbright:
I totally forgot that Colts fake punt disaster a few years ago was also Tom McMahon (current Broncos ST coordinator)
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) October 18, 2019
This has only been one of the many mishaps on special teams for the Broncos this season, making it a possibility that Denver may be once again searching for a new special teams coordinator at the conclusion of the season.
Another reason for worry was the play designs by OC Rich Scangarello, who has not impressed thus far. There was no rhythm to be found, no sense of urgency, and nothing but conservative play-calling and check-downs for little to no gain.
The play-calling did not look like that of a team playing from behind and desperate to save their season in October.
Overall, there was much more bad than there was good in Thursday night’s uninspiring performance by the Denver Broncos. Going forward, they have to find a way to consistently win games and to kick-start the offense if they wish to salvage this season.