The easy start has concluded and the meat of the schedule is on its way. Denver takes on Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Vegas, and Cleveland the next 4 games. This will determine whether the 3-0 broncos are frauds or legit. But now, I will provide my takeaways from the game vs the Jets where the Broncos won 26-0 in the home opener.
Tim Patrick Is Mr. Reliable
Tim Patrick this season has 2 TDs which leads all receivers in this team and had 5 catches for 98 yards vs the Jets. He will be called upon more now that KJ Hamler has unfortunately been ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Patrick displayed his reliability last year where he posted 51 catches for 742 yards and 6 TDs and filled in nicely with the absence of Sutton last season. Since the start of 2020, Patrick has had no drops. Patrick is the perfect example of a player taking advantage of his oppurtunitues. From not playing at all in 2017 in his rookie season to being one of the most underrated wide outs in the league in 2021 speaks to the hard work he has put in the these last 5 years. Hopefully, another wideout in our depth chart can grasp their opportunity with Hamler being out.
2. Defensive Dominance Continues
It certainly helps that the Broncos played 3 inexperienced QBs to start the season but that does not take away the fact the Broncos defense has been absolutely dominant. The Broncos held their opponent on Sunday under 200 yards for the second straight time. QBs really struggled against Vic and the defense. Quarterbacks this year have combined for 55/105 545 yards with 2 TDs and 4 Ints. That’s dominence! The run defense has been good too but that is mainly due to teams abandoning the run because they fall behind especially in the second half. The Broncos have given up 178 yards in 3 games which is 59.3 yards per game. Most importantly, the defense has not had to be on the field whereas in previous years they would have to play so much due to poor offensive output. The Broncos rank number 1 in time of possession holding the ball for 108/180 minutes meaning the defense has only had to play 72 minutes and a well rested defense is usually the most productive. They had their best game on Sunday producing 5 sacks and forcing 2 turnovers. A lot of credit has to go to Teddy and his ability to keep the Broncos on the field these 3 games.
3. KJ Hamler’s Injury Hurts
KJ’s Injury definitely hurts as his ability to spread the defense out will be missed. His ability to take the top of the defense creates easy openings underneath for Teddy to throw to. I expect Baltimore to play more pressed up on the receivers as they will not have to worry about being burned with speed. Sutton and Patrick must win their 1 on 1 matchups with physicality as I expect to see more jump balls thrown in this game. We will see how David Moore will play as the Broncos picked him up off the raiders practice squad on Monday. Fant and Albert O will definitely be more involved in the game plan now that Jeudy and Hamler are not playing. I will go into more detail on how the Broncos can still be effective passing the ball.
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