The Denver Broncos now already enter a must-win game in Week 2 of the 2023 NFL season. What should we look out for against the Washington Commanders? In Week 1, the Broncos fell to the Las Vegas Raiders, and it was an interesting game. The defense held the Raiders' rushing attack in check and held the offense to 17 points.
That would certainly be a recipe for success, but Denver had quite a few penalties, only six offensive drives, and kicker Will Lutz missed four points worth of kicks. Russell Wilson was very efficient and the Broncos' run game was also able to churn up yards. It just felt like a weird game overall, but the Broncos have a chance to get back on track against the Commanders, a team that needed the entire game to beat the lowly Arizona Cardinals by four points.
On paper and otherwise, Denver should win this game, and at this point, I think it's a must-win for them already. What are the three biggest things we should be looking out for in this matchup?
Denver Broncos: 3 biggest things to watch out for in Week 2 against Washington
1. Damarri Mathis having another tough test
The Washington Commanders have a nice stable of wide receivers that will keep Damarri Mathis busy. Their top three receivers are Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Curtis Samuel. While the trio isn't as good as what the Raiders fielded last week, Mathis will surely be forced to cover all three of these players at some point.
Mathis probably had the worst game of his career last week, giving up a ton of receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was a true liability in coverage and got tested quite a bit because of how lockdown Patrick Surtain II is. With Caden Sterns out for the year and K'Waun Williams still out for a while, the secondary has taken a hit, and if Mathis is going to continue to struggle, this unit is a lot weaker than most of us thought.
2. Can the offense get explosive plays going?
The Denver Broncos' offense was actually very, very efficient last week, according to this chart:
Denver was the 2nd best O, in terms of series results
— Jordan Lopez (@JordanTLopez) September 11, 2023
The O under Payton was noticeably better and my favorite stat of them all is this:
Denver converted 10 first downs on early downs (1st and 2nd downs). This is crucial in having a great offense, avoiding 3rd down situations pic.twitter.com/rRTQVxhK0v
Fellow Predominantly Orange contributor Jordan Lopez notes that the Broncos' offense converting 10 first downs and early down situations, which is simply something we did not see in prior seasons. However, while the offense was efficient most of the game, the big issue was the lack of explosive plays, and a big reason for that was being without Jerry Jeudy for the whole game and not having Greg Dulcich for most of that contest.
Jeudy looks all but certain to return to the lineup, returning quicker than expected from a hamstring injury, so the offense should be able to get a bit more explosive with Jeudy in the lineup. Russell Wilson only threw for 177 yards on 27 completions, which is a pedestrian 6.5 yards gained per completion. Sean Payton likely encouraged Wilson to utilize his checkdowns quite a bit, but Jeudy not being in the lineup likely forced Wilson to not take as many shots.
Ideally, when Jerry Jeudy returns to the lineup on Sunday, we see the offense open up a bit.
3. Can we please see some pass rush?
Washington Commanders' QB Sam Howell got sacked a whopping seven times in Week 1, and the Arizona Cardinals do not have any pass rushers of note, so I am begging to see some type of pass rush from the Denver Broncos. That's all I ask.
In Week 1, the Broncos weren't able to sack Jimmy Garoppolo one time, which was a huge disappointment. The big issue with Denver's stable of pass rushers is that there isn't a true No. 1 player. I think during any given week, all of Frank Clark, Randy Gregory, Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto, and even Zach Allen can be that guy.
And that's a problem. I am surely hoping the Broncos' pass rush can put something together against a very bad Commanders' offensive line. If not, we'd have to start talking about this defense as potentially being one of the worst in the NFL. We saw that the secondary got worked quite a bit in Week 1, and if the pass rush isn't going to show much, the only thing this defense may be able to hang their hats on is the run stopping.
If Denver had had any type of pass rush in Week 1, they probably would have won the game. The defense simply could not get off the field, which limited the offense to only have six possessions, which was the lowest a Broncos' offense had since 2000. Denver needs to get a W on Sunday, and I think the single most important part of the team that needs to show up is the pass rush.
Yes, it goes without saying that Russell Wilson needs to play well, but he did indeed play very well in Week 1, and I am not all that concerned about the offense when Jerry Jeudy returns to the lineup.