Big Story:
Von Miller was Traded Monday Morning to the rams for a 2022 2nd and 3rd round pick. It is tough to grasp that Von Miller will not be suiting up in a Denver Broncos uniform on game day. It is however, the right move as he is 32 years of age and has displayed some durability issues that past couple of years. Von will forever and always be a Bronco. DB4L! Now onto what happened in the game on Sunday.
The Broncos even their record at 4-4 back to a .500 record against the Washington Football Team on Sunday. It was most certainly not pretty, but the important thing was they were able to get a win and maybe get some momentum before they face arguably the toughest test in their schedule so far against the Dallas Cowboys who won on Sunday Night despite missing Dak Prescott that game. There was some good, some bad and I will get to all of those in my takeaways from Sunday's game.
The Offense Lacks Energy
The Broncos offense played well enough to beat a 2-5 football team. They scored 17 points on the last ranked scoring defense for Washington and Teddy had some trouble throwing over the last ranked pass defense as well. It was certainly not a game to hang your hat on offensively. It seems they lack intensity and big play ability. Melvin Gordon and Jerry Jeudy were the only real bright spots as Gordon had 2 Tds one on the ground and one catching. Jeudy did not have a big day statistically, but looked to be back at full form making defenders looking silly with his route running and made some big catches down the stretch. Teddy was 19/26 213 yards and had a TD with no INT. That looks to be a very solid stat line but the truth is he struggled much throughout the day. Though he made some nice throws like the 31 yarder to Sutton down the right sideline and some in the 4th quarter to Jeudy and Patrick, he was very inconsistent against a poor pass defense. His first throw of the day was almost intercepted as he threw the ball over Noah Fant's head by nearly 10 yards. He took 4 more sacks today putting the Broncos behind the chains on many occasions as one of them led to a 3rd and 29 in the opening possession. Pat Shurmur called a a bad game once again having Noah Fant in one on ones with their best linemen blocking. On a 3rd and 1 he decides to call a swing pass that goes backwards for 4 yards rather than handing the ball off. Once again, most of his run calls are just running back dives up the middle. His gameplan once again lacked creativity and situational awarness. The Broncos, however, were 7/13 on third down which was much improved than their season average. Hopefully the 7/13 means something going forward.
2. Defensive Intensity Returns
Albeit, it was against the Washington Football team, the Broncos defense had a very impressive outing recording 5 sacks on the day with 2 interceptions. The 2 interceptions came from Justin Simmons on Hail Mary attempts from the end of each half. Malik reed had 2 sacks which included a huge one in the 4th quarter that forced a a 4th and long. Shelby Harris and Dremont Jones each blocked a field goal. The attention to detail and intensity was light years better than what they displayed 10-11 days ago on Thursday Nights against the Browns. The Broncos defense finally looked like a dominant group again and it starts upfront. Patrick Surtian has been solid his whole rookie campaign breaking up passes and not giving up the big play. Unfortunately, the Broncos most likely lost Bryce Callahan for the season after he bent his leg the wrong way defending a pass. This injury could prevent the Broncos from considering trading Kyle Fuller as his expertise will be needed in the absence of Callahan. Overall, it was good to see the defense put together a performance like this and hopefully the momentum can carry over into Dallas next week.
3. What Was That?!!!
The Broncos have the ball with just under 30 seconds remaining. On first down Javonte Williams takes the handoff and fumbles it but Dalton Risner recovers. Thats fine, things like this happen sometimes though Javonte should do a better job securing the ball. On 2nd Down, Shurmur decides to call a pass play and Teddy throws an incompletion rather than taking a sack or falling down. Why are we calling a pass there?!!! Alright here we go 3rd down. Melvin Gordon has not fumbled since week 11 of last year so he seems like the safe bet. He takes the handoff and FUMBLES and WFT recovers. Fortunately, the Broncos defense got the stop and Denver got the win but that last sequence was inexcusable. The Lack of focus in that last drive was evident and that is 100% on coaching. If a running back fumbles on first down, kneel the ball on second and third rather than calling a pass play. It is not worth the risk. Poor coaching all around that final drive.
Injuries:
Garret Bolles(ankle) will at least mist next week
Bryce Callahan looked to have a gruesome leg injury in the 4th
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