Lammey: 3 big takeaways from Broncos loss to Falcons

The Denver Broncos are undefeated no more. They lost to the Atlanta Falcons at home in Week 5 by a final score of 23-16 — and the final score does not reflect how truly this game was one-sided. Denver’s record stands at 4-1, and the Broncos are now in a tie with the Oakland Raiders for first place in the AFC West after five weeks of football.

Things turn around quickly for the Broncos, as they travel to play the San Diego Chargers in Week 6. It will be interesting to see if they can put together a better performance than they did on Sunday.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak was disappointed after the game, but he emphasized how their mindset needs to improve heading into the next game.

“We need to have a short memory here and get back to work.” Kubiak said.

Here are my three biggest takeaways from the loss to the Falcons:

3. Offensive line plays poorly

There is no question that the Broncos offensive line is not playing at a high level. For the third game in a row, right tackle Donald Stephenson didn’t play and was replaced by 2015 second-round pick Ty Sambrailo.

As with the previous games this season, Sambrailo continued to struggle in pass protection. Falcons linebacker Vic Beasley registered 3.5 sacks against the Broncos, and Denver decided to remove Sambrailo. In his place, Michael Schofield moved out to right tackle and Darrion Weems moved into Schofield’s vacated right guard spot.

Kubiak defended his decision to take Sambrailo out of the game.

“We just wanted to play Weems some. Ty has played a ton of football for a guy who hasn’t done much for eight weeks. He was forced into that situation because of the injury to Donald. Today is tough on a lot of guys.” Kubiak said.

The change up front didn’t result in improved play from the line. They weren’t necessarily worse after the switch, but they were not much better — if at all — after the move.

With the offensive line struggling, the Falcons sacked rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch six times and had him under pressure for most of the day.

In addition to poor pass protection, the Broncos couldn’t run the ball again for the third week in a row.

The right side of the line specifically couldn’t get much push, and they certainly weren’t opening up any creases for C.J. Anderson to cut back. Add in the continued struggles of Max Garcia, and three of the five offensive linemen had graded out poorly against Atlanta.

2. Atlanta running backs tough to stop

The Broncos defense is the best in the league at getting after the passer. However, they came into this contest ranked 11th in the NFL averaging 113.8 rushing yards allowed per game.

Atlanta has not one but two talented running backs in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. They both split time in the backfield as the Falcons use a “hot hand” approach under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

The Falcons running backs had success on the ground (122 rushing yards as a team), but they really stood out in the receiving game. Specifically, Coleman as he caught four passes for 132 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. The Broncos linebackers looked soft in the middle of the field, and they certainly looked suspect in coverage.

Kubiak admitted his linebackers struggled in coverage against Coleman and Freeman.

“They spread us out. You can’t ask (the inside linebackers) to hold up that long. Their backs accounted for a lot of offense today. They did a helluva job,” Kubiak said.

The NFL is a copycat league. Now that the film is out there of attacking the Broncos linebackers in coverage with speedy backs, expect opponents to test the defense in the same area.

Their next three games (against San Diego twice and at home against Houston) feature teams with speedy starters in Melvin Gordon (Chargers) and Lamar Miller (Texans). These teams should try to beat the Broncos through the air with backs like that.

1. Paxton Lynch struggles

We got to see the first ever start in Paxton Lynch’s pro career, and it didn’t go smooth for the rookie. Playing for an injured Trevor Siemian (shoulder), Lynch went 23-of-35 passing for 223 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Unlike the game against the Buccaneers, where Lynch looked good from the shotgun, Lynch spent a lot of his time under center. When passing, he would drop back from under center and see what the field looked like as the play unfolded. When doing that, Lynch seemed to hold onto the ball too long, and that helped the pass rush of the Falcons harass him often.

Lynch is known as an emotional player, and he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve when in the game. He looked down at times in the game against the Falcons. Lynch seemed to lose confidence the more he got hit by the Falcons. This is something he didn’t show in college at Memphis, where he was the best quarterback in the FBS when it came to making plays under pressure.

I asked Lynch about the emotions he was feeling after the game.

“I’m upset, obviously, because we lost. If I get put in that situation again, I will know how to handle it a little bit better than I did the first time,” Lynch said. “I am glad I got the experience, but I am also upset that we didn’t come out with the win.”

There’s no telling where the Broncos go with their quarterback position with the game on Thursday. At this time, the best assumption anyone can make is that Siemian will start — if healthy — against the Chargers.

Lynch may not get to see the field again this year if Siemian can stay healthy and the team stays on the winning track they were on before Sunday.

Follow @CecilLammey