Denver Broncos' offensive line had a stellar performance in Week 1
The Denver Broncos' offensive line had a very strong performance in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season. Is this unit finally stable for Denver? Besides Sean Payton, the biggest change that the Broncos underwent in the 2023 offseason was the huge investment along the offensive line. The Broncos shelled out over $100 million in contracts to Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey to shore up this unit.
Returning from last year were Garett Bolles, Quinn Meinerz, and Lloyd Cushenberry. Bolles and Meinerz are above-average at their respective positions, so this unit looks pretty strong on paper. The verdict is still out on Cushenberry, in my opinion, and seeing as I think the Broncos are going to work to extend Quinn Meinerz next offseason, I think the fourth-year Cushenberry ends up hitting the open market.
Anyway, the Las Vegas Raiders came to town in Week 1, and even with their talented defensive line, the Broncos' OL held their own. Check out this statistic from NFL Next Gen Stats:
Not only was the unit strong, they were the best in the NFL in Week, allowing pressures on juat 17.1% of dropbacks. This is a very, very encouraging statistic to see. And what I like most about this is it's not really a statistic that can be misleading or anything. I think PFF isn't always the best metric to use for player performance, and I don't think I'm the only one that holds that opinion.
NFL Next Gen Stats are pretty objective, so it's nice to see the Broncos' strong performance at the top of the NFL. Russell Wilson took just two sacks, which is only 34 across a 17-game season. Wilson's career-low sack number is 33, so if the Broncos' OL only gives up two sacks a game, that feels pretty solid to me.
Denver also had two running backs rush for 41 yards or more last Sunday in Samaje Perine and Javonte Williams, so the run game was efficient as well. Overall, it was an encouraging performance in Week 1 for the Denver Broncos' offensive line. This has been a unit that has struggled for years, and seeing them put on a nice performance with the new players in Powers and McGlinchey gives me hope for their future together.