Three things the Broncos must do to beat the Falcons on Sunday

The Broncos bounced back against the Chargers last week. After playing poorly in the first half and getting down by 21 points, Denver made a miraculous comeback and scored a touchdown to win the game with time expiring.

This week, the Broncos try to continue their winning ways against the Falcons. Atlanta is not a good team, boasting a 2-6 record overall. However, they fired their head coach, Dan Quinn, after the team started 0-5 this season and put Raheem Morris as their interim head coach. The Falcons have gone 2-1 since then and the one game they lost (to the Lions) was by one point. They are energized and looking for their first win at home this season.

Broncos head coach Vic Fangio doesn’t see much difference in the team since they changed their head coach.

“They haven’t really changed much, if anything. They’re a really good offense. Anytime you can throw names out their like Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Hayden Hurst, Todd Gurley II, Alex Mack, (Chris) Lindstrom, (Kaleb) McGary – they’ve got a lot of talent on offense and it’s reflected in their stats,” Fangio said.

This is a winnable game for the Broncos. If they can beat the Falcons, then the Broncos will have a .500 record after playing half of their games this season. Here are three things the Broncos must do to beat the Falcons.

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Hot Start / Read the Defense

The Broncos can build some momentum with a win. The season is not lost, and the team is playing for their head coach. The team, from a front office standpoint, wants to learn more about starting quarterback Drew Lock. Whether or not they make a run at the postseason, it’s more important for the team to determine whether or not Lock can be their franchise quarterback by the end of the regular season.

One thing we’ve seen from Lock is his inability to read a defense properly. Instead of scanning the field and using his eyes to manipulate the defense, Lock will lock onto his primary target and only read one side of the field if he does have to go off his first target. In the game against the Chargers, Lock looked uncomfortable for at least the first half if not the first three quarters. However, in the fourth quarter, Lock seemed like a different player.

Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur feels that Lock did a better job of going through his progressions in the final quarter against the Chargers.

“Yeah, I did. I think that was evident in the last drive. We executed that last drive in a short amount of time, and we had to take small bites. What did he say last week? He missed some baby throws. I think he hit some of those baby throws that helped keep the drive alive. It’s the guys that are catching the ball in zones and just catching and splitting zones that a short gain can become a longer gain. Again, this is a game you have to practice. You like to see improvement week to week. You like to see improvement in the things that you emphasize — that makes us feel good as teachers. Then, you just have to build on it because obviously then the challenge is to repeat it the next week and get better on it. I’ll go back to become a better version of yourself and the same thing applies in the fundamentals of the game,” Shurmur said.

In order to build momentum, Lock needs to keep playing better. He flashed what he could be in the final quarter of the Chargers game. Lock and the Broncos cannot afford for him to get off to another cold start on the road against a surging Falcons defense.

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Overcome Secondary Issues

The Broncos may be without starting cornerback A.J. Bouye this week. Bouye was concussed in the game against the Chargers in a friendly fire scenario with safety Kareem Jackson. He’s not yet practiced this week as he goes through the league’s concussion protocol.

Fangio gave an update on Bouye’s status on Thursday.

“He won’t be on the field, but that’s part of the protocols — guys with a concussion cannot hit the field until Friday with the team,” Fangio said.

We’ll know more about Bouye’s status over the weekend and he may be a game-time decision before Sunday’s game. Regardless of whether or not Bouye plays, the Broncos need to have a good plan for dealing with superstar receiver Julio Jones. He is one of the best receivers in the game and is tough to cover even if the secondary is at full strength.

If Bouye is out, the responsibility of covering Jones will go to Bryce Callahan and/or Michael Ojemudia. Callahan is the No. 2 cornerback in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus, but he’s a smaller corner who could get abused by a large and strong receiver like Jones. Add in the fact that Callahan is banged up with an ankle injury that has limited him in practice this week and you can see how this could be a larger than normal problem.

Ojemudia was picked on a few times against the Chargers and he gave up some big plays. The rookie did not let those bad plays impact his confidence and he was part of the defense that got the ball back to the offense to secure the win. He’s a talented rookie with upside but he’s not ready to take on a seasoned pro like Jones.

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Gurley Gone Wild

In addition to having a superstar receiver in Jones, the Falcons have a former superstar running back in Todd Gurley. I call him a former superstar because knee injuries have robbed Gurley of the explosion he used to have as a younger player. Gurley is not the same player he used to be, but he’s still an effective starting running back who can take over a game.

The Broncos run defense was poor against the Chargers. They gave up more than 200 yards rushing to the Chargers as a team, letting guys like Troymaine Pope, Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley run all over them. No disrespect to that trio, but they do not compare to a back like Gurley.

Broncos defensive end Dre’Mont Jones knows the team is a work in progress in terms of their run defense.

“Still a lot to improve on in run defense. It really just depends on me focusing up and watching the film some more. Just really concentrating on the little things in the run game. I don’t feel the pressure of trying to keep it up more. I think I just have to go out there and play normal football that I’ve been playing and just reminding myself that I can play,” Jones said.

The Broncos need a big game from Jones and the guys up front on the defensive line. They are certainly missing nose tackle Mike Purcell who was lost for the season due to an injury suffered in the Chiefs game a couple of weeks ago.
We’ll see how the team can hold up against a back like Gurley. If they are soft against the run like they were against the Chargers, the Broncos do not give themselves the best chance to win.

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