The Denver Broncos got the win against the New York Giants, and they did so in impressive fashion. Here are five sensational stats that defined the victory.
The Denver Broncos got themselves a win in September and for Vic Fangio, that was his first as a head coach of the team. Although the win came at a cost (Jerry Jeudy, at least for a bit), it was one of the most impressive season-opening victories the Denver Broncos have had in quite some time.
In terms of just controlling the game and playing well in all phases, it was probably the best victory the Denver Broncos have had in a season opener since Peyton Manning threw seven touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2013 opener.
Digging into games statistically is always fun, but especially after victories. It’s not just the fact that the Denver Broncos won a game, but how?
There were a number of huge individual performances in this game as well as a variety of key team stats that contributed to the win against the New York Giants that are worth some extra attention.
Let’s take a look through five sensational stats that helped define this victory.
Denver Broncos: 5 game-defining stats vs. Giants
1. 35:08
Time of possession.
In this game against the New York Giants, time of possession was a critical stat for the Denver Broncos.
Let’s make one thing clear, though — time of possession doesn’t matter at all if you’re not converting that time with the ball in your possession into points.
Case in point.
The Denver Broncos were fifth in the NFL this past week in time of possession, and only two teams in the top five of this category won their respective games (Chargers were the other).
Although it took them most of the first half to finally get into the end zone, the Denver Broncos ended up with 27 points in this game to show for their time holding onto the ball, seven points more than they scored a season ago on average.
The 35:08 time of possession was also more than six minutes longer than the Broncos had the ball on average in a game a season ago.
Vic Fangio calls that kind of ball movement “matriculating” and the Broncos did that expertly against a tough Giants defense.