HEADLINES

Pritchard: Motivated Broncos earn big win in front of loyal fans

Dec 10, 2017, 9:12 PM | Updated: 9:12 pm

The Denver Broncos snapped an eight-game skid Sunday with a 23-0 win over the New York Jets. Here’s “Pritchard & Cecil” co-host Mike Pritchard’s big three observations from the Broncos shutout:

1. A complete game from a motivated Broncos team

A motivated Broncos squad finally played a complete game and got a much-needed victory at home against the Jets.

Denver’s offense played with an edge, and its defense dominated.

From where did the inspiration come?

Linebacker Von Miller said head coach Vance Joseph’s speech to the team last night wasn’t a “rah-rah” speech but more of a challenge to a team of “ballers” to go and do what they do best.

“The ballers are just going to ball, regardless of the circumstances, the score, or the game. They’re just going to go out there and ball,” Miller said of the speech. “He challenged all the ballers, which we have a team full of ballers. He challenged everybody to go out there and ball, and we did that.”

2. Offense countered Jets man coverage challenge

The Jets challenged the Broncos offense by playing man-to-man coverage. And Denver responded with quick passes, along with contested passes Broncos receivers made plays on.

Once again, Denver had trouble converting in the red zone, with only 25 percent scoring conversion percentage, primarily because New York played zone coverages in the condensed are of the field.

3. Broncos Country showed up in a big way

Even though it’s been a tough season for Denver, Broncos Country still loves its team.

There was a great crowd on hand for Denver’s victory over New York, one that the players and coaches appreciated.

“The fans have been great through this eight-game losing streak. They never left us,” Jopseh said after the game. “It’s been frustrating for all of us involved here; players and fans alike. But the fans came out today. They were loud. They made a difference today.

“Big props to the fans, 70,000 strong.”

Headlines

Head coach Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves...

Jake Shapiro

Timberwolves still in limbo over who will coach them vs. Nuggets

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be led by a former Denver Nuggets assistant coach when the two teams meet in Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs

3 minutes ago

Cale Makar Norris...

Will Petersen

A yearly tradition: Avalanche star Cale Makar is up for the Norris

Cale Makar had a monster season for the Avalanche, posting 21 goals and 69 assists; this is his fourth time being nominated for the Norris

33 minutes ago

Aaron Gordon #50 of the Denver Nuggets goes to the basket against Rudy Gobert #27 of the Wolves...

Jake Shapiro

The Wolves are going to test the Nuggets, here’s how Denver wins

The Nuggets are tasked with taking down the Wolves for a second straight year in the NBA Playoffs, seeking a repeat

9 hours ago

Avalanche Jets Valeri Nichushkin Mikko Rantanen...

Will Petersen

The Avalanche ground the Jets, Round 2 bound with flurry of goals

Mikko Rantanen scored his first two goals of the series to give Colorado the lead, propelling the Avalanche and dispatching the Jets

13 hours ago

Rockies pitcher Justin Lawrence...

Andrew Mason

Bad Rockies start hits new low in collapse to NL’s worst team

The Colorado Rockies were tooling along with a 5-0 lead in Miami headed to the bottom of the ninth ... and then everything came apart.

16 hours ago

Chris Harris Jr....

Andrew Mason

Chris Harris Jr. officially retires from NFL playing career

After a 12-season career that included nine in Denver, Chris Harris Jr. announced his retirement from the playing field on April 30.

21 hours ago

Pritchard: Motivated Broncos earn big win in front of loyal fans