Broncos O-line quiets critics in handing Chiefs first loss

[Denver Native (Carol)]

DENVER — For nearly 20 years, the men tasked with protecting Denver Broncos quarterbacks, from John Elway to Jake Plummer to Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning, have hid in the shadows and shielded themselves from public view.

In Denver, more so than anywhere else in the NFL, offensive linemen want to be ignored, in good times and certainly in bad. But the spotlight on the Broncos' offensive line could not have been brighter this week, as the Broncos' Super Bowl hopes are so firmly linked to keeping Manning healthy.

What better time, then, for the Broncos offensive line to play its best game of the season.

rest - http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/11/18/afc-west-broncos-hand-chiefs-first-loss-of-season/3624105/

[Dreadnought]

I was sweating bullets over this game, not even so much over winning/losing but having PMFM get drilled the wrong way and trashing the Year. Kudos to Chris Clark, et al. - they met the challenge beautifully, aided by an excellent offensive game plan

[BigDaddyBronco]

Thy need to take this game as a sign and continue to game plan to proect Manning. If he can get hs ankle destroyed against JAX then it can happen against anyne. I also think it is important to find other ways to win, such as usig the running game and defense as itmight come to that in the playoffs. You don't want to be a one trick pony in this league.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Thy need to take this game as a sign and continue to game plan to proect Manning. If he can get hs ankle destroyed against JAX then it can happen against anyne. I also think it is important to find other ways to win, such as usig the running game and defense as itmight come to that in the playoffs. You don't want to be a one trick pony in this league.

That's exactly what they did last night.


To help his grip against the chill, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning wore gloves. To help keep his sore right ankle pain free, the Broncos put running the ball into their game plan.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_24544840/peyton-manning-denver-broncos-run-over-chiefs-afc

[LTC Pain]

The O-line was rock solid! And if Clark continues his solid play we might be able to get a 2nd round pick for him once Clady's healthy. Relax, I'm just thinking ahead :)

[MasterShake]

Chiefs never really tried any 5+ man blitzes or exotic looks instead relying a lot on a standard rush. I expect it will be different in Arrowhead next time around so they will really have to step up their game.

[VonDoom]

Chiefs never really tried any 5+ man blitzes or exotic looks instead relying a lot on a standard rush. I expect it will be different in Arrowhead next time around so they will really have to step up their game.

True, but one of the hallmarks of this vaunted defense has been their ability to get pressure without blitzing. They certainly didn't show it last night (thankfully) and overall, they only have one sack in their last three games.

[MasterShake]

True, but one of the hallmarks of this vaunted defense has been their ability to get pressure without blitzing. They certainly didn't show it last night (thankfully) and overall, they only have one sack in their last three games.

Yup, like you said the 1 sack in the last few games is a testament to that. It also didn't help that we really ran the ball a lot and the few good blitzes they did have Manning was able to get rid of the ball very quickly. One was a Safety blitz if I remember right.

It almost seemed to me when I was at the game that the Broncos kind of shut down their engines in the second half with their lead (especially with the way OUR defense was playing) and it seemed that was a concerted effort to just run off clock and get field position and not get Manning killed. If the Chiefs got the momentum back I felt we could have turned it back on at any point. Could just be me though. The whole crowd was just chilled out after the first quarter and only really got into on 3rd downs. There was never any doubt after the lead was 2 scores.

[powderaddict]

Take that KC!

[BigDaddyBronco]

Chiefs never really tried any 5+ man blitzes or exotic looks instead relying a lot on a standard rush. I expect it will be different in Arrowhead next time around so they will really have to step up their game.

And then Peyton will burn them big time....

[VonDoom]

It almost seemed to me when I was at the game that the Broncos kind of shut down their engines in the second half with their lead (especially with the way OUR defense was playing) and it seemed that was a concerted effort to just run off clock and get field position and not get Manning killed. If the Chiefs got the momentum back I felt we could have turned it back on at any point. Could just be me though. The whole crowd was just chilled out after the first quarter and only really got into on 3rd downs. There was never any doubt after the lead was 2 scores.

That was kind of my take on it too. Carol posted that article a few times about how the strategy was to run the ball to protect Manning. I thought they were playing too vanilla, but I think the coaches knew what they were doing and that they didn't have to be flashy to beat this team. I definitely think they could have put up more points if they had to put the pedal to the medal in the second half. I was pretty confident that they'd convert that 4th and 1 from the 18 but the FG was obviously the wisest choice there.

[Northman]

That shirt is priceless. hahahaha

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/q71/s720x720/1456082_538882329530672_36703321_n.jpg

[Joel]

Don't tell me how to feel! :tongue: The line did it's most important job: Prevent further injury to Manning, and give him to throw (though he looked as uncertain of them as anyone early; he noticeably rushed that screen to Demaryius so badly the receiver barely had time to get close enough to put one hand on the ball.) The run blocking could still have been better; I think we had our worst average of the year (2.9 yds on 36 carries) against a very weak run D that lost a starting DE early.

It was good enough to keep KC honest though; no big plays, but a few long conversions (and a TD from ~8 yds out) and many decent gains to put us in 2nd/3rd and manageable. That and outstanding pass blocking made the difference; Manning walked off the field with >300 yds and WITHOUT a limp, and we only had one turnover (which OUR D immediately revoked.) There's no place like home. :salute:

[Joel]

Thy need to take this game as a sign and continue to game plan to proect Manning. If he can get hs ankle destroyed against JAX then it can happen against anyne. I also think it is important to find other ways to win, such as usig the running game and defense as itmight come to that in the playoffs. You don't want to be a one trick pony in this league.
Our running game the last month continues to concern me, because you're right: One-dimensional teams don't win SBs; even Flacco had to find a way to throw before the Ravens had a shot. Again, we got enough decent gains to keep KC honest last night, so they couldn't just pin their ears back and send the house at Manning, but we need to figure out how to close out games running with a late lead, because we can't count on two-score fourth quarter leads against playoff teams. 2.9 yds/carry against the #24 run D is unacceptable (playing the #1 offense but #20 rushing offense actually moved them UP to #20.)


That's exactly what they did last night.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_24544840/peyton-manning-denver-broncos-run-over-chiefs-afc
I wonder if Reid outsmarted himself: That good a coach should've expected us to exploit their weak run D and protect Manning by running a LOT—and we did; 36 runs and 40 passes is pretty balanced. If that WAS Reids plan it largely succeeded, allowing no big runs and holding us to just 2.9 yds/carry (again, pretty sure that's our season low,) though the last TD was a back-breaker that left nothing undone for us except administering the coup de grace FG for a three score lead.

Was that why KC blitzed so rarely though, because they refused to overrun the play on all those Moreno dives behind his C and Gs? Wheels within wheels; we tried to beat them running and Reid stopped us, but the prolonged persistence of that contest meant Manning usually faced no blitz on passes, and we did run well enough to avoid stalling out in 3rd and no-chance-of-a-rushing-conversion. They played a lot of extra DBs (e.g. 3 CBs on DT, Decker and Welker, with a safety on JT,) but even with a safety deep that left six other guys who could've charged the QB, but it rarely happened.


Chiefs never really tried any 5+ man blitzes or exotic looks instead relying a lot on a standard rush. I expect it will be different in Arrowhead next time around so they will really have to step up their game.
I agree. It won't be nearly as quiet for Mannings extended complex playcalls at Arrowhead, and KC will have the recent unpleasant memory of foregoing the blitz to cover runs up the gut and those stretch plays we love, only to have the headlines read "Manning untouched, Broncos roll to ruin KCs perfect season" the next day. The very fact we convincingly won last night means we won't face that losing gameplan again.


And then Peyton will burn them big time....
Hope you're right; the quick throws should be there if that game's called as tightly in the secondary as this one was. Someone finally reminded the refs that, even if Illegal Contact can't be called within 5 yds of the line, PI while catchable balls are airborn is illegal ANYWHERE, and Defensive Holding is illegal any place OR time. It'll be interesting to see whether we stick with the run because it rarely lost yards and did distract the Chiefs D from Manning, and, if so, whether the Chiefs stocked our run through concerted effort at the expense of pass rushing, or our run blocking is just that bad. Still getting hit at or behind the line too much.

[TXBRONC]

I was sweating bullets over this game, not even so much over winning/losing but having PMFM get drilled the wrong way and trashing the Year. Kudos to Chris Clark, et al. - they met the challenge beautifully, aided by an excellent offensive game plan

Denver played it's most conservative game of the year and still managed to beat the Chiefs by two scores. I very rarely with Kiszla but he commented earlier today said that Denver beat the Chiefs at their own game.

[TXBRONC]

Thy need to take this game as a sign and continue to game plan to proect Manning. If he can get hs ankle destroyed against JAX then it can happen against anyne. I also think it is important to find other ways to win, such as usig the running game and defense as itmight come to that in the playoffs. You don't want to be a one trick pony in this league.

I don't know if that's the kind of game plan you want to take into every game. I don't disagree running the ball a little especially as the weather gets colder but I don't think we can have Moreno running back 25 plus times every game.

[Joel]

Denver played it's most conservative game of the year and still managed to beat the Chiefs by two scores. I very rarely with Kiszla but he commented earlier today said that Denver beat the Chiefs at their own game.
In a sense, it really did seem that way, though our runs weren't as PRODUCTIVE as theirs, our QB's a LOT better (especially on deep balls) and we can actually DEFEND the run. But we pressured Smith very effectively while pounding the ball at their middle 36 times, protecting possession and avoiding turnovers almost completely. Their offense and defense combined couldn't beat us without turnovers, and we kept that even, so we won by two scores. The real question is whether we can be as effective in a historically very harsh environment as we did in a very friendly one.

That, and beat the Cheatriots first; we can't count on Indy to win @KC, but even if they do they can win the division by just holding serve if we lose @NE. For that matter, if NE wins tonight and against us they'll be the favorite for the AFCs #1 seed even if we DO sweep KC (though the sweep would at least prevent a wildcard and give us a bye.) Maybe we can't run Moreno a couple dozen times/game, but we need to run SOMEONE (committee or whomever) a couple dozen times so we aren't reduced to an arena league team whose QB gets the crap blitzed out of him. 2.9 yds/attempt against the #24 run D won't win playoff games.

[Northman]

I don't know if that's the kind of game plan you want to take into every game. I don't disagree running the ball a little especially as the weather gets colder but I don't think we can have Moreno running back 25 plus times every game.

We will probably have to consider it though. The Ravens playoff game last year showed how we struggle without any running game at all. We were fortunate that day that Holliday did what he did.

[Bugs Baloney]

Our front 5 was impressive to say the least.