The Broncos have a golden opportunity to start their season 3-0 in 2021 as Zach Wilson and the Jets come to town. Wilson came off a horrendous game throwing for 4 interceptions and no touchdowns in their 25-6 loss to the pats. Bill Belichick displayed his defensive prowess against the young QB and this upcoming game for Zach Wilson will not be any easier as he takes on another defensive mastermind in Vic Fangio. Here are my 3 keys to Sunday’s game. Broncos will be in front of a full stadium at empower field since Dec 29 2019!
Go get the win!
This key may sound obvious at first. Well duh, get the win! But it is imperative the broncos get the win to go to 3-0 before playing Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Las Vegas the 3 games after. Getting the win against the Jets is not what’s most important but it is how they do it. The first 2 games the Broncos seemed to outlast 2 bad teams and allowed them to beat themselves while the broncos played mistake-free, efficient football. This formula will work vs the Jets but the Broncos need to be greedier. Scoring only 10 points in the first half against the Chiefs and Ravens will most likely result in a loss. Against the Jets, I would like to see Denver come out aggressive right from the jump and score between 14-20 points in the first half. The Jets are a good team to try that against as they are struggling in all facets of the game including offense and defense. It will be a little worrisome if the Broncos win this game 24-14 or something similar to how they beat the Jaguars. Now I get it, style points do not always matter but against good teams they’re actually necessary. Just ask Lamar Jackson when he flipped into the end zone to give the Ravens over the Chiefs. In all seriousness, Denver needs to start games better and this week it is a good opportunity to fix some nagging issues. The Broncos offense has not been terrible as they have been able to move the ball and avoid 3 and outs but their issue has been finishing in the red-zone and kicking field goals to open up games. The Broncos need to be more greedy for points.
2. Run Game Must Get Going
Without that 70 yard TD run vs the Giants in week 1, the Broncos run game has been rather disappointing to start the season especially Melvin Gordon. Obviously we can’t take away the 70 yard run from him but I would like to see more consistency in his runs where he runs 3-4 yards a run rather than running for no gain or for a yard all game and breaking out a 75 yard run in the end of the game. Fangio, however, stated that teams were playing the run tough by stacking the box and making Teddy beat them. Teddy has made the Giants and Jags pay so the Jets may play them more balanced and honest which could aid the run game. Javonte Williams had a nice game vs the Jags running 13 times for 64 yards averaging nearly 5 yards per carry and his strength was on full display turning no yard situations to 4-5 yard gains. Gordon must step up as he only had 13 carries for 31 yards which is a 2.4 average. In order to beat KC this year, we are going to have to run the ball as that has been their Achilles heal so far giving up 7TDs and given up 202 yards per game in 2021. They did play the 2 best running teams in the ravens and browns so the numbers may be a little inflated but that does not hide the fact the run defense has given up big plays on the ground. The road goes through KC in the playoffs and if Denver has any chance of making a playoff run they are going to have to show they can beat the elite teams and that starts with the run game. Teddy has looked great but we cannot rely on him to out duel Mahomes, Herbert, Carr, Jackson. We need a complete effort from the offense in order to have a realistic shot to beat them.
3. Get Mile High Rocking
This is not really a key to the game for this week per say but our more difficult games are at home so it would be nice to have the crowd as a 12th man. Empower Field will be at full capacity for the first time since Dec 29 2019 and they are going to be LOUUUUUUUUUD. I’m already getting chills thinking about the noise at mile high when Von gets a sack. Let’s hope it happens. I got the Broncos winning 31-10!
Teddy- 250+ Yards and 1 TD Passing
Melvin and Javonte- 170 yards on the ground combined with 2 TDs
Defense will have 3+ sacks and 1+ turnovers
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