Denver Broncos: 25 or under, Philadelphia Eagles
Mr. Reliable, Tim Patrick shined like a star on Sunday. His bank account is also ready to shine, this man made himself some money last week!
On a game that was nationally televised, Tim Patrick put on display what Broncos Country has been seeing for the past few years for everyone. All Tim Patrick does is catch everything in his radius, beat anyone in man-to-man coverage, and give every one of his quarterbacks a weapon to trust.
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw a magnificent ball to Patrick streaking up the left sideline, with Trevon Diggs trailing. This led to one of the explosive plays that Bridgewater was saying this offense needed, as it resulted in a 44-yard touchdown. When Teddy cocked that ball back, I was like “uh-oh, uh-oh, LET’S GO!!”
I’m not sure if I have ever seen Teddy put so much oomph on a ball in his entire career. For someone who has been very critical of Bridgewater’s play, I will always give credit when due. That pass was a thing of beauty.
He had an effective outing Sunday, but this efficient was actually effective. Teddy is typically efficient, but it isn’t always an effective efficient. Typically, he hasn’t sprinkled in enough explosive plays for it to matter, that wasn’t the case Sunday.
Teddy had several “wow” throws, whether it was the touchdown pass to Tim Patrick, the slant to Courtland Sutton, or the crosser to Tim Patrick, his ball placement when attacking downfield was perfect. Hats off to Teddy Bridgewater for a great game Sunday.
What also played an important factor was this team’s ability to rush the football effectively. That trend has to continue against the Eagles who are giving up nearly 120 rushing yards a game.
Defensive Coordinator, Jonathan Gannon has this unit allowing 24.2 ppg, which is 20th in the NFL. Not completely atrocious, but not exactly inspiring numbers neither.
Denver Broncos offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur, and this Denver Broncos offense are averaging below that margin, with just 20.8 ppg, which is 22nd in the NFL.
Neither of these units are world-beaters, but one must prevail in a battle. With Melvin Gordon continuing to run strong, and Javonte Williams hitting his rookie stride, I have to give this advantage to the Denver Broncos.
Gannon and the Eagles are giving up just 235 passing yards a game, but there is a good chance they will be without their number one cornerback, Darius Slay.
Looking ahead to this matchup, my three keys to the Denver Broncos’ offense winning the battle against the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense comes down to this:
- Run the football, successfully. Aim for 35-40 rush attempts between Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams
- Continue to utilize Jerry Jeudy in motion. His best attribute is his shiftiness, do not turn him into a statue.
- Set up your deep shots through play-action.
If the Denver Broncos are able to follow this script, I do believe this team could steamroll into the bye week at 6-4, with all of the momentum they could possibly ask for.
My prediction for this game, the Denver Broncos send the Eagles flying home with a loss, 26-17.