Broncos-Colts: The good, the bad and the ugly from Sunday
Oct 28, 2019, 6:43 AM | Updated: 11:14 am
The Broncos put up a strong effort against the Colts on Sunday – at least on the defensive side of the ball. The Colts were hot coming into this contest, but the Broncos held them to just 15 points on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Broncos were only able to score 13 points themselves and lose yet another game (third this season) on a last-minute field goal by their opponent.
Broncos head coach Vic Fangio does not think this team is snake-bit this season.
“We just didn’t do the things you need to do to win these types of games. We had a chance to get a first down and close the game out, we don’t do it. We had a chance to sack the quarterback – albeit he’s very good at avoiding – we didn’t do it. We get a late hit I suppose out of bounds there and they throw it at that time of game, which is questionable. We’ve got to do the things you’ve got to do to win these games and we haven’t done them,” Fangio said.
The Broncos return home for a game against the Cleveland Browns then they have a bye. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from Week 8 loss.
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The Good
It was good to see the Broncos stick with the ground game – even when it wasn’t successful early. The Broncos clearly wanted to achieve balance on offense and did not lose focus on running the ball that often. Instead, we saw a fairly even split of carries between Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman.
At halftime, both backs had the same amount of carries. Lindsay had eight carries for 25 yards (3.1 average), while Freeman had eight carries for 29 yards (3.6 average). Those aren’t great averages, but you see how the team wanted to keep running the ball.
In the second half, we saw some good runs for both backs and they both ended with respectable totals to finish the game. Lindsay led the way with 14 carries for 59 yards (4.2 average) and Freeman had 12 carries for 40 yards and one touchdown. This was the first rushing touchdown the Colts have allowed to an opposing running back over the last five weeks.
I thought offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello did avoid running the ball when the team was near pay dirt. There were some drives to the Colts side of the field that ended in field goals that could have been touchdowns instead if the team had pounded the rock.
The Broncos really lack an identity on the offensive side of the ball because they don’t run the ball enough. They made strides to establish that ground game – and that identity – but still fell short in the win/loss column.
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The Bad
I could put a plethora of problems here, but I want to focus on a missing player in the Broncos offense. We didn’t see much from DaeSean Hamilton as the No. 2 receiver opposite of Courtland Sutton. With Emmanuel Sanders traded away to the 49ers earlier in the week, Hamilton had a large opportunity to take over as the team’s No. 2 receiver.
Instead of putting together a strong game to prove that he is worthy of that spot, Hamilton did not catch a single pass. He was targeted with one pass, but that fell incomplete.
This is not what the Broncos were planning on when they made Hamilton a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Hamilton has turned in one disappointing season, and we got clues that he may not quite be up for the challenge all the way back in training camp.
I was glad to see rookie Juwann Winfree active in this game, but he was not targeted with a single pass. Instead, return man Diontae Spencer was more involved in the offense and finished the game with two catches for 18 yards and one carry for five yards.
We’ll see if Hamilton, Winfree or anybody else can step up in that much-needed No. 2 wide receiver spot. We know Tim Patrick is coming back from Injured Reserve but that won’t be until after the team’s Week 10 bye.
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The Ugly
We saw the return of right tackle Ja’Wuan James on Sunday against the Colts. But unfortunately, it didn’t last that long. James injured his knee in Week 1 and had not seen the field until Sunday. His return was short lived as James went down with a knee injury against the Colts.
Fangio didn’t have much of an update about James after the game but acknowledged that losing him (again) is a big blow.
“Yeah, it is. Maybe we should’ve given him another week, I don’t know. He was cleared, he felt good about playing and he went out and got injured again. I don’t know the severity of it yet,” Fangio said.
James signed a four-year, $51 million contract with Denver in March. He’s struggled to stay on the field and now might find himself shut down for the season. We should have a better update when coach Fangio talks to the media on Monday.
With James out, the Broncos will stick with Elijah Wilkinson as the starting right tackle. This is okay, but it also prevents the team from replacing or benching left tackle Garett Bolles if he struggles. James was going to be a big part of this offensive line in 2019, but instead the team is continuing to play without him.
