Predominantly Orange
FanSided

Denver Broncos: Stock up, stock down after Patriots win

By Shelby Manning

Oct 18, 2020; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Denver Broncos place kicker Brandon McManus (8) watches one of his four field goals as New England Patriots cornerback Justin Bethel (29) looks on during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2020; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Denver Broncos place kicker Brandon McManus (8) watches one of his four field goals as New England Patriots cornerback Justin Bethel (29) looks on during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Denver Broncos, Brett Rypien
Oct 1, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur hugs quarterback Brett Rypien (4) after a touchdown pass during the first half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

Pat Shurmur, OC

Another season, another dose of strange play calling. Although Pat Shurmur impressed with his variety of play-calls in week one against the Titans, it has seemingly gone downhill from there.

Under his command, the Denver Broncos are once again struggling to score points, and this was very apparent in a game that relied on Brandon McManus to carry the team.

Of course, it took the offense to set up in field goal territory, but it will be apparent soon enough that not scoring touchdowns rarely results in victories. Another issue that is still apparent under Shurmur is Denver’s struggle to convert on third down. Currently, the Broncos are ranked 29th in third-down conversion rate, converting only 35.94% of third downs on the season. They only converted 28.57% against the Patriots (per TeamRankings).

One more area where Shurmur raised eyebrows was his lack of carries given to Phillip Lindsay in the fourth quarter to eat clock. Shurmur’s unwillingness to run the ball would result in two consecutive Denver turnovers that, thankfully, did not prove to be fatal to the team.

Hopefully, Shurmur can drop the cutesy play calls and stick to ground and pound football, especially when hanging on to a lead, and improve this team’s third-down performance.

Home/Broncos News