Good Thing The Broncos Play In The AFC West
As the third week of this young NFL season winds to a close, the Broncos find themselves in a three-way tie for 2nd place (or last place, depending on how you look at it) and a game behind the division-leading San Diego Chargers. Yeah, I know it's early in the season, but when you consider that Denver won the division with an 8-8 record - after losing their last three games - it's probably not too early to look at the standings. Particularly when it looks like the Broncos may struggle to be .500 and that two other teams in the division had the same record as the Broncos, who needed about a dozen tie-breakers to claim the title.
After back-to-back losses against two of the best teams in the NFL so far, the Broncos need to be grateful that they play in the AFC West, because they are nowhere near good enough to consider themselves in the same league as teams like the Texans and the Falcons. In both losses, the team found itself down by 20 points in the 4th quarter after poor 1st half performances.
Last week against the Falcons, it was because of the offense suffered from 4 turnovers in the first half.
Against Houston, it was because the defense suffered from an inability to stop them on third down, along with the inability to stop the big play in the first half (the Texans were five of seven on third down and two of their 1st half TDs were pass plays of 52 and 60 yards). The only first half highlight for the Denver D was a safety on Houston's first drive.
Not to be outdone however, the offense wasn't lacking in their contributions to the sorry first half. Here's an abbreviated look at each drive:
1. After a 15 yard run on the first play of the game, managed only 3 yards on the next three plays - punt.
2. Start on Denver 40 after a free kick following the Houston safety. Denver reached the red zone and with a first and 10 on the 20, they fail to convert another first down and settle for a FG.
3. 22 yard drive on 8 plays (the only 1st down due to penalty) - punt.
4. 4 yards on three plays - punt
5. Start on Denver 20 and reach the Red Zone again. With 1st and goal, they fail to score a TD - field goal.
6. 8 yards on three plays - punt
7. Start on Denver 40 with 34 seconds left in the half. Manage to reach Houston 35 - field goal.
4 punts (2 of them 3 and out), 3 field goals (2 of them in the red zone).
Just like last week, the Broncos offense and defense looked better in the second half. Of course, true to his Mike Shanahan roots, Kubiak played to protect a two score lead with lots of running plays and a soft defense that was only trying to keep the big play from happening, so the improvement by the Broncos is a bit deceiving.
I know the offense still learning to play together and that Peyton Manning is a great leader who still has the talent to lead this team to great heights. I also know that the defense is working under it's 7th Defensive Coordinator in 7 years. But when you consider the results so far, it might just be a good thing that the Broncos play in the AFC West.
The good stuff:
1. Peyton Manning in the 4th quarter - Down by 20 points, the Broncos were on offense as time expired and they were only down by 6. The Texans were playing to protect their lead, but Manning can pick that type of defense apart.
2. Peyton Manning - No picks. After throwing three in the first three drives last week, he needed that type of play.
3. Matt Prater - 3/3 on FGs with a long of 53 yards. If not for his leg, we aren't even in the game at half time.
4. Britton Colquitt - 8 punts / 43 yard avg / 3 inside the 20 with two of those inside the 5.
5. Eric Decker - 8 receptions for 136 yards.
The not-so-good stuff:
1. Defense - As mentioned above, big plays and third down defense. And here's another little tidbit - the Texans had a total of 65 plays and 23 first downs.
2. Offense - An incredibly weak first half performance. When playing at home, this offense should (and must) be able to get off to a fast start. There's also the problem of settling for field goals in the red zone 2 out of 3 times. There were also too many dropped passes.
3. Manning - While he's been effective in picking apart defenses in the fourth quarter, the fact that he's been put in this position two weeks in a row means that the stats are a bit deceiving and that the offense is playing inconsistently.
4. Willis McGahee - Take out his first run of the game, and he had 19 yards on 11 carries. He also suffered a rib injury that could keep him out for awhile.
5. Coaching - What's the deal with the absence of the "no-huddle?" For the third week in a row, it wasn't used until it was too late. Manning should be using it 100% of the time, particularly at home.
6. Special Teams - No, this is not a misprint. Matt and Britton were great and did outstanding today. The reason this is in this category as well as above is the fact that they were used too much today. 11 kicks on 14 drives is too many appearances by special teams. As I said after the Pittsburgh game, it would be nice if our special teams didn't have to be the hero every week like they were last season. Today's game failed in that department.
Offensive player-of-the-game: Brandon Stokely. He had 6 catches for 73 yards and a TD. There was some doubt that the Broncos knew what they were doing by bringing him back. He proved today that he can still deliver.
Defensive player-of-the-game: Rahim Moore. 9 solo tackles. Dumervil and Woodyard get honorable mention for the sack and the INT since they didn't do anything else in the game.
