The Denver Broncos don’t have any time to feel sorry for themselves after their loss to the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon. The turnaround to play the Indianapolis Colts is quick, and the team only has a couple of days left to prepare. Sitting at 2-2 with the Kansas City Chiefs playing at home against the Raiders in Week 5 of the NFL season, the pressure is on Nathaniel Hackett and the Broncos to get to 3-2 before the “mini bye” after this game against the Colts.
The Broncos are 2-0 at home this year and 0-2 on the road. Thankfully, this matchup against the Colts will be played in Denver. Although the Colts have not looked good early this season, they do have a win against the Chiefs, something the Broncos would love to be able to say they had by season’s end.
Let’s take a look at some of the things we want to see happen in this Colts game, making some bold predictions.
Denver Broncos bold prediction vs. Colts no. 1: Melvin Gordon has a big game
Everyone in Broncos Country has been piling on Melvin Gordon as of late, and you can’t blame them. Nobody is going to be harder on Gordon about his fumbling problem than Gordon himself, but at the same time, you can’t help but hold your breath every time this guy has the ball right now.
Dating back to last season, Gordon has fumbled five times in five games. Also dating back to last season, he’s lost three fumbles that have been returned for touchdowns in the Broncos’ last 12 games. Sometimes fans make things seem worse than they are but in this case, I think it’s safe to say that things regarding Melvin Gordon are just about as bad as the fans are making them out to be.
With that being said, we’re not piling on Gordon here. We’re stating the facts and making a bold prediction based on where things are at. The Broncos have no choice but to rely heavily on Gordon and his experience on Thursday night against the Colts. I think Gordon is going to come out and have a big game. The fumble against the Raiders was a new low for him. Gordon has got to quickly refocus and get that mistake out of his head.
He needs to play against the Colts with an intensity we have not yet seen from him in a Broncos uniform. Despite his fumbling issue, Gordon has also been one of the Broncos’ only consistent sources of offense since 2020. The ability and talent are in there, we just need to see him come out and have a big game vs. Indianapolis when the Broncos need it desperately.
Bold prediction no. 2: Baron Browning and Nik Bonitto each have a pair of sacks
Against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos lost more than just Javonte Williams. They also lost pass rusher Randy Gregory, the team’s prized free agent from the 2022 class. Gregory has been fantastic so far this season for the Broncos and suffered a knee injury against the Raiders that will put him out for 2-6 weeks.
Gregory will have a minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure on his right knee to determine what course of action will need to be taken to get him back to full speed as soon as possible. In the meantime, it will be Baron Browning and Nik Bonitto stepping up for the ailing Denver Broncos edge position, which also is dealing with injuries right now to Jonathon Cooper (hamstring) and Aaron Patrick (concussion).
Against the Indianapolis Colts and Matt Ryan, how about a pair of sacks each for the Broncos’ young pass rushers Baron Browning and Nik Bonitto? The Broncos need their young pass rushers to step up along with Bradley Chubb, and we’ve already seen Browning get really close a few times to his first sack of the 2022 season.
These two guys bring elite speed off the edge and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has done a tremendous job of combining his rushers on one side of the field to create pressure in creative and unique ways. It wouldn’t be surprising if we see at least one sack from these two guys but I’m going to get bold and say they each get themselves a pair.
Bold prediction no. 3: Denver Broncos get a defensive touchdown
Over the course of the first four weeks, the Denver Broncos have been much better at creating takeaways or creating takeaway opportunities than they were last season. Not that this is overly uncommon, but four weeks into the 2022 season and we’re still waiting for the first defensive touchdown from this stellar unit.
Again, that’s not overly surprising — defensive touchdowns are hard to come by. With that being said, it sort of feels like a defensive score has been percolating in recent weeks and the Broncos could certainly have used one (or two). Against the Indianapolis Colts, I’m calling my shot that we’re going to see the Broncos defense finally get on the board.
So far in 2022, Matt Ryan has thrown five interceptions, averaging more than one per game. If the Denver Broncos’ defense can keep that pace going in Week 5, they’ll have a shot at a pick-six and maybe a fumble recovery for six as well. In addition to his five interceptions, Matt Ryan has also fumbled an astonishing nine times this season. He has lost just three of them, but the opportunity is going to potentially be there.
The Colts’ offense ranks 32nd in the NFL so far this season. And you thought the Broncos’ offense was bad? Now, a turnover-prone Matt Ryan is going to have no choice but to take on a motivated Denver defense after they had a poor performance against the Raiders. I like the chances of the Broncos’ defense unveiling a touchdown celly this week.
Bold prediction no. 4: Denver Broncos actually get something from the TE position
Hello? Is anybody there?
The Denver Broncos tight end position has been virtually non-existent this season. Save for a couple of big plays in Week 1 from Andrew Beck (where have those been?) and a couple of nice receptions from Eric Saubert, the Broncos’ tight end position has been non-eventful as far as the passing game is concerned. Specifically, we have seen pretty much nothing from third-year player Albert Okwuegbunam, who was expected to take a huge leap forward this year by many with the addition of Russell Wilson.
He has not.
Whether that is Okwuegbunam’s fault, Wilson’s fault, or Nathaniel Hackett’s fault, I think is up for debate. As of right now, the issue has reached a panic mode level in Broncos Country and the team needs more consistent production.
One way they could get it is from rookie Greg Dulcich, who appeared on track to be the team’s TE1 before suffering a hamstring injury all the way back in June. It’s now been four months and while Dulcich did attempt to test his injured hamstring in training camp, we haven’t seen hardly any of him at all since OTAs. Because of that, it’s extremely difficult to predict what kind of impact we’re going to get.
It would be nice if he could just be thrust into the lineup and have success, but that is perhaps unrealistic. One way or another, I’m still predicting that the Broncos are going to get some great production out of the tight end position against the Colts, if only because that position group is due for some nice contributions to the offense, overall.
Bold prediction no. 5: Denver Broncos go off for 5 (or more) 40-yard plays
It was a glorious sight to see KJ Hamler get open deep downfield for a big 50-yard play against the Las Vegas Raiders. Actually, more than just being a glorious sight, it was desperately needed. Up to that point, nobody really knew what the Broncos were doing with Hamler, how confident they were in his recovery, etc.
Seeing Hamler separate deep downfield against the Raiders secondary was something we all desperately wanted and needed to see this past week. Against the Indianapolis Colts, hopefully we will see more of that, and perhaps from more than just KJ Hamler.
I’m predicting we will see at least five explosive plays from the Broncos’ offense of 40-yards or more. Of course, Hamler’s play against the Raiders was 50-plus, but the Broncos had opportunities for big plays all throughout the game against Vegas and they came close to a handful of 40-yard plays. Kendall Hinton had a 35-yard play, Jerry Jeudy had a 32-yard play, and Montrell Washington had a 30-yard punt return.
The Broncos have gotten close to some big-time plays, not that those 30-yard plays don’t qualify. Against the Colts, I’m thinking we’ll see some explosive plays from the passing game, the return game, and even the running game. How about a 40-yard run from Melvin Gordon or Mike Boone? A field-flipping kickoff return from Montrell Washington?
Broncos may have suffered multiple devastating injuries vs. Raiders
The Denver Broncos may have suffered some devastating injuries against the Raiders with the loss of Javonte Williams and Randy Gregory.
How about more of the same from KJ Hamler this week? It would be great to see. Everybody loves when Russell Wilson throws the deep ball, and he’s one of the best at it in the league. Maybe we see all of the Broncos’ top three receivers get in the mix there this week against the Colts.