Laddie Morse
Sean Payton may be in his second year for the Broncos, but without QB Russell Wilson it looks like a completely different offense. The Denver Broncos are 5-and-4 on the year and prior to the game last weekend against the Ravens, they were 5-and-1. Then, however, they lost big to the Baltimore Ravens in a 41-to-10 whipping. Here’s their record for the year (so far).
.
.
.
The game that concerns me most is the Broncos game against the Bucs who the Chiefs just got by 30-to-24. In the Broncos game against the Bucs they went into half time with a 20-to-7 lead, and gave up zero points in the second half, and holding their QB, Baker Mayfield to an 83.3 passer rating.
Their rookie QB Bo Nix is getting better week by week, so his athletic ability to move and run is also a concern. In an article for BVMSports.com called, “Bo Nix Dominates with 33 Explosive Plays, Ranking 2nd in NFL QBs” they point out:
.
“Rookie quarterback Bo Nix is making waves, ranking
second in the NFL for explosive plays (20+ yards), only
behind Lamar Jackson. Despite the Denver Broncos’
struggles this season, Nix’s performance highlights his
potential, currently boasting 33 explosive plays — 28
through passing and 5 via rushing. While he started
slowly, Nix has shown marked improvement in his deep
passing game and is maintaining a solid record of
limited mistakes, keeping him in contention as a potential
franchise quarterback for the future.”
.
Broncos Defense
While I’m a person who respects the Broncos Defense, even after they allowed 41 point to Lamar Jackson and the rest of his offense, NFL.com has an article called, “NFL Fantasy 2024 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Defenses for Week 10” by Michael Florio who thinks the Broncos Defense is in a “sit-em” situation when it comes to the Chiefs.
.
“Denver has been one of the best fantasy defenses this
season. Still, I do not like starting defenses against the
Chiefs. They have taken sacks at the seventh-lowest
rate in the league. On the season, they have allowed
the seventh-fewest fantasy PPG to defenses. Even though
they’re not the offensive juggernaut they used to be, it’s
not smart to start defenses against the Chiefs.”
.
While Michael Florio has the right idea when it comes to Fantasy Football, the strongest part of Denver’s team is their defense. PFF has an article that came out prior to this season called, “PFF Cornerback Rankings: Top 32 ahead of the 2024 NFL season” and they ranked Patrick Surtain II as the 4th best CB in the NFL saying (BTW they ranked Trent McDuffie as the 2nd best):
.
“Surtain’s 2023 season was a step down from his
stellar 2022 campaign. But while his PFF coverage
grade took a hit in 2023, his advanced metrics looked
much better, as he turned in the eighth-best season
when accounting for the difficulty of assignment,
separation allowed and grading on non-targeted
plays.”
.
Here’s PFF Grades for Patrick Surtain II in each of his seasons so far:
.
.
While Patrick Surtain II can’t be considered a “new” face on defense, his performance makes all the difference in the world for them. Just like the Chiefs have a shut-down corner in Trent McDuffie, so do the Broncos have a shut-down CB in Surtain II.
A question appears about whether or not Surtain II can handle DeAndre Hopkins this Sunday at noon. We’ll find out soon enough but my money is on DHop.
Sayre Bedinger wrote a piece for Predominantlyorange.com this week called, “3 glaring problems Broncos must fix before Week 10 game vs. Chiefs” in which he says,
.
“1. Cash in when you get past midfield – The Broncos really struggled against the Baltimore Ravens with the opportunities they were given when they got past midfield. They had a 4th down play that ended with an incomplete pass despite Bo Nix having a wide-open Troy Franklin running a slot fade against the perfect defensive call. What would have been a touchdown turned into an extra possession for the Baltimore Ravens.“
.
Bedinger goes on to point out a second glaring problem the Broncos need to fix:
.
“2. Enough of losing the turnover battle – The great teams in the NFL already have a built in margin for error. Nobody is better evidence of that than the Kansas City Chiefs as Patrick Mahomes is 2nd in the NFL in interceptions this year and the Chiefs are -4 overall in turnover differential this season.“
.
Like so many, Bedinger points to the pass rush:
.
“3. Get the pass rush going again – We all know what happened against the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson had a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating on the day. Part of the reason for that is because the Broncos couldn’t keep him in the pocket. He was back there knitting sweaters in the pocket, and then anytime the Broncos forced him out, the secondary rush was out of position or not there at all.
.
In all three cases, Bedinger could be talking about the Chiefs. What do you think of the coming matchup on Sunday?
.
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
.