The Denver Broncos are reeling heading into the bye week following a difficult home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The team now sits at 5-5 and though the level of play in Denver has been among the worst in the league at times this season, the Broncos are just one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs for the lead in the division.
As much as they don’t look anything like a playoff team, they are still well within striking distance of a playoff berth and if they can use the bye week to rest up and come back onto the field ready to play quality, inspired football, it could definitely still happen, particularly if the team can find a way to win these three key games.
The dominant victory the team was able to achieve on the road against the Dallas Cowboys definitely gave some fans of the team false hope. The Broncos are not as good as they looked in that game and the Cowboys are not as bad as they looked in that game.
The NFL is ever-changing and the phrase “any given Sunday” is quite true.
The Broncos are much more like the team that looked atrocious against the Eagles last Sunday and if they are going to compete for a playoff spot, the following areas are going to need to see considerable improvement.
Run defense
Looking at the overall statistics, it doesn’t look like the Broncos are that bad in this area. They allow an average of 110 yards per game on the ground, which ranks right in the middle of the pack (16th) in the league.
But if you watched the game against the Eagles, you saw how badly the team defended the run.
And that came against backup running backs in Boston Scott and Jordan Howard, who each had over 80 yards rushing in the game. Earlier this year against the Cleveland Browns, third-string running back D’Ernest Johnson ran all over them.
Much of the team’s struggles can be attributed to losing both starting inside linebackers, Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson, for the rest of the season.
Looking at the final seven games on the team’s remaining schedule, the Broncos don’t face a rushing offense that is currently better than 17th in the league. They need to take advantage of that and shut these teams down, forcing them to beat them in other ways.
Of course, most of those teams can as they have quarterbacks that can really air the ball out, but the Eagles were really able to expose the Broncos in the rushing department and if a team like the Chiefs, Raiders or Chargers are able to do that, Derek Carr, Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert will all completely pick them apart in the passing game and make those games quite ugly.
Vic Fangio is a defensive specialist and he needs to use this bye week to make sure his defense is not gashed in the run game again the way both Cleveland and Philadelphia have been able to do.
Give the ball to Javonte
It is clear that the coaching staff in Denver favors the veteran Melvin Gordon, but it’s just as clear that he is not as effective running the ball as the rookie Javonte Williams.
On the season, Gordon has been given 15 more carries than Williams but has just eight, yes eight, more yards. Williams also averages more than a half yard per carry more than Gordon.
But it seems like when the Broncos need a big play or down near the goal line, it’s Gordon that gets the call much more often. That was the case against the Eagles on a key 4th-and-1 play in which Gordon fumbled and the entire game changed.
Going into the remainder of this season, it should be Williams getting the ball more often than Gordon and much more near the goal line. Williams has shown himself to be a force with the ball in his hands, often running through guys and forcing multiple tacklers to bring him down more often than not.
One of the most annoying things about the combination of Fangio and Pat Shurmur is their stubbornness. It’s not just that they won’t sit Teddy Bridgewater down (which they absolutely should) but it’s the same with the running backs.
Gordon has been effective at times, but it’s painfully obvious that the offense needs to see more of Williams.
More aggressive playcalling
Can we even get more aggressive with Bridgewater at quarterback? As I stated earlier this week, Bridgewater should not even be the starter anymore, but he will be and as a result, we’re likely to see the same, predictable, mundane offensive attack.
But the Broncos are not fooling anyone. They looked great against the Cowboys, but look at how that offense looked against the Eagles and the Washington Football Team. That offensive attack is not going to carry a team to the postseason.
During the week off, Shurmur needs to figure out how he can get more aggressive by attacking teams down the field rather than his predictable run, run, pass approach.
How many times have we seen the Broncos facing a 3rd-and-7 play or longer and then Bridgewater throws a 4-yard pass and the receiver is cut down way shy of the first-down marker? Too many.
Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy need to be much more involved going forward. In the last three games, Sutton has a total of five receptions. He’s only been targeted nine times in those three games.
That’s just unacceptable.
This offense needs to become more dynamic. The Broncos need to find a way to score more than 17 points in a game. Shurmur needs to be more creative and much, much more aggressive.
Can he do that with Bridgewater? Or is this just a limited offense with Bridgewater running it? If that’s the case, this team won’t be going to the postseason this year.