The 5-5 Denver Broncos are back home after a tough couple of losses on the road against the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively. They are set to face a familiar friend in Justin Simmons and the NFC South division leaders, the Atlanta Falcons on Week 11.
Despite both losses against tough AFC teams, the Ravens and Chiefs, Denver's offense, specifically rookie quarterback Bo Nix, looked improved with good performances. Speaking of rookies, running back Audric Estimé, a fifth-round pick whom Head Coach Sean Payton mentioned would have a bigger role offensively, seems to have secured the RB1 title over Javonte Williams. The former Notre Dame running back led the Broncos in all rushing categories in Week 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and he looked powerful.
Broncos running the ball with Audric Estimé crucial vs. Falcons
Broncos OC Joe Lombardi said giving Audric Estimé the lion's share of the Broncos running-back carries last Sunday was a scenario where "you ride the hot hand."
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) November 14, 2024
"We feel good about him. But we feel good about Javonte. We feel good about Jaleel," Lombardi said. "But he was the… pic.twitter.com/5uWofSKRkN
Why am I talking about Audric Estimé? Well, there is a key statistic regarding Denver's week 11 opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, that he, the other running backs, and even Bo Nix could take advantage of.
The Falcons have allowed 100+ combined rushing yards to opposing teams in 9 out of 10 games
You are reading the above correctly. The Atlanta Falcons' run defense has been terrible so far through ten games of the season, and the Denver Broncos must take advantage of it if they want to win their Week 11 matchup. A victory over Atlanta can significantly boost their playoff chances, and they must pound the rock with their rushing attack.
From those 10 games, the only one Atlanta did not allow over 100 rushing yards was against the New Orleans Saints in Week 10. Specifically, they allowed 96 yards against their NFC South division rival. Let's look at their other nine games ...
- Week 1 vs PIT: 137 yards (57 to quarterback Justin Fields)
- Week 2 at PHI: 186 yards (85 to quarterback Jalen Hurts)
- Week 3 vs KC: 128 yards (17 to quarterback Patrick Mahomes)
- Week 4 vs NO: 131 yards (5 to quarterback Derek Carr)
- Week 5 vs TB: 160 yards (42 to quarterback Baker Mayfield)
- Week 6 at CAR: 114 yards (21 to quarterback Andy Dalton)
- Week 7 vs SEA: 103 yards (15 to quarterback Geno Smith)
- Week 8 at TB: 102 yards (11 to quarterback Baker Mayfield)
- Week 9 vs DAL: 137 yards (30 to quarterback Dak Prescott)
On average, Atlanta's defense allows 129.4 rushing yards per game. Their defense has been vulnerable against the run, which gives Bo Nix and the running backs a perfect opportunity to exploit their weakness. This will be important for Denver, specifically because if they can establish the run game from the start, Denver will control the game clock and keep the Falcons' offense off the field, increasing their chances of winning this matchup.