Denver Broncos: Secondary will be key to defeating Falcons
With a win on Sunday, the Broncos could get to .500 for the first time since 2018.
Coming off the kind of victory that can turn an entire season around last week over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Denver Broncos head to Atlanta to face a struggling Falcons squad.
The Falcons are not a good team. They sit at 2-6 and have already made a coaching change this season. That said, they have played much better under the leadership of interim coach Raheem Morris.
And though the Falcons are 2-6, they do have one of the league’s best passing attacks and it is even more dangerous when they are at home.
The Falcons currently rank second in the league in passing and the connection from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones is always dangerous. Luckily for the Broncos, it looks like Calvin Ridley, a young wide receiver quietly becoming one of the league’s best, may not play in this one. The Broncos will also be without their No.1 cornerback, A.J. Bouye.
That leaves Bryce Callahan the likely challenge of going up against Jones and trying to slow him down since it is all but impossible to stop him.
But Jones is not the only target that Ryan has to throw the ball to and even when one of his top targets has been out of action, the veteran quarterback has still found a way to get guys like Russell Gage and Olamide Zaccheaus involved.
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He also has Hayden Hurst and we all know how the Broncos usually do against the tight end position.
The Falcons have a poor win-loss record but the offense hasn’t been the problem there for years. You often need to win a shootout to beat them, particularly in Atlanta. The Broncos are going to have to put points on the board but if they can slow down the Atlanta passing attack, they have a great chance to get to 4-4 on the year.
The Broncos have not had a .500 record or better since the first week of December in 2018, nearly two full years ago.
A win on Sunday would have them trending in the right direction but in order for that to happen, Callahan will need help from guys like Michael Ojemudia, Davontae Harris and maybe even a guy deep down the depth chart like Essang Bassey or Kevin Toliver.
The way the secondary plays for the Broncos will likely determine a win or loss in this one.
Update: Callahan will not play in this game due to injury, so obviously, it will be an even taller task for the secondary.