5 Broncos players who should be benched during the bye week

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CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 21: Mike Purcell #98 of the Denver Broncos runs off the field during a game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 21, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

5 Broncos players who should be benched during the bye week

4. Mike Purcell, DL

Against the Washington Football Team and the Dallas Cowboys, the Denver Broncos had found a winning formula when it comes to their run defense.

They gave up 112 rushing yards to Washington and only 78 yards rushing against Dallas, but the games just before and just after that told a different story.

Against Cleveland, the Broncos were absolutely gashed to the tune of 182 rushing yards, and the performance against the Philadelphia Eagles was the worst of the season in this category. Against Philly, the Broncos allowed 214 rushing yards in total.

Mike Purcell played against Cleveland and Philadelphia, but he was out with an injury against Washington and Dallas.

It would be a massive stretch to say that Purcell is the problem here, but it would be worth looking into the correlation between his being in the lineup or not and the run defense’s success, or lack thereof.

DeShawn Williams and Shamar Stephen had been playing quite well along with Dre’Mont Jones and Shelby Harris. Perhaps the Broncos should be looking to get those guys more playing time and limit Purcell’s snaps.

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