Three observations from the Broncos win over Washington in Week 8

The Denver Broncos wanted to have a Halloween where they were the scary ones. Washington Football Team was in town, and the Broncos wanted to snap their four-game losing streak. The game was frightening – even though it was a 17-10 win for the Broncos.

The last offensive drive, with less than one minute remaining, almost cost them the game. Instead of sitting on the ball and then punting, giving Washington only a small handful of seconds (and no timeouts) to drive over half the field to score, the Broncos fumbled the ball away and took only a few seconds off the clock.

After the game, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio described that series in only a way he could.

“Whatever (the) worst word you can use to describe it, you can use to describe it. We got a couple yards on the first run. Luckily, we were down, and the ball came out then. The offensive coaches all thought the boot play had a chance to work on the second one to get the first down. They had all their three timeouts. If we didn’t get a first, we were going to have to punt. Obviously, it didn’t. You’d like for Teddy (Bridgewater), if it’s not clean, to run with it and keep the clock going. Then obviously, the fumble on the third down. It was awful. It was a terrible, terrible series of downs for us,” Fangio said.

Here are the top three observations from the Broncos vs. WFT game.

***

New Guys

The Broncos defense has been a problem this year. They’ve had a multitude of injuries at the linebacker position, and in this game against Washington they had some new guys out there trying to make plays.

Baron Browning, a rookie linebacker from Ohio State, was a player I enjoyed watching in college and projected him as a pass-rusher at the pro level. I wanted him to get a chance as an outside linebacker at the pro level, but the Broncos have him at inside linebacker currently. Early in the game against the WFT, Browning seemed out of position, but his play improved as the game went on.

Stephen Weatherly made an impact in his first game with the Broncos. With time winding down, and Washington in field goal range, Weatherly raced around the edge to sack Taylor Heinicke and force the punt. He has length and burst to get after the quarterback, and he made more plays as the game went on. Against the WFT, Weatherly finished with 1.0 sack, one tackle for loss and two tackles total. Not bad for someone who just got here.

Speaking of just getting here, Kenny Young is the newest member of the Broncos. Young arrived via trade last week, and he stepped into a large role as an inside linebacker on Sunday. He’s a good player, and this was a good trade for the Broncos. Young did not let them down, finishing with four tackles. He brought an energy to the field that few do on Denver’s defense – some much-needed aggressiveness.

After the game, Fangio was asked about the new guys who had to step up in the win.

“We’re down five of the seven starters for the front right now. Then by that time, we were down Bryce (Callahan) also. We had a lot of guys in there that haven’t played a lot of football for us, and a couple of them that just got here. Very proud of those guys and happy for them. Hopefully it’s something that we can build on,” Fangio said.

***

Block that Kick!

The Broncos have a knack for blocking field goals. More specifically, defensive end Shelby Harris has a knack for getting his hands up – not only to knock down passes but to also keep kicks from reaching the uprights.

They have blocked three field goals over the last two games. That’s not by chance, that is by plan, design and execution. It starts with Harris, but others like Dre’Mont Jones are getting in on the action.

The play of Harris is infectious, and he’s out there having fun and leading the guys up front. The Broncos took care of Harris with a new contract this offseason, and he’s playing up to that price tag – paying the Broncos back with his strong play.

Harris explained what it takes to be good at blocking kicks.

“When it comes to blocked kicks, it’s really more about will and determination but then, it’s also all dependent on who you have next to you. Last week, it was Mike Purcell and this week it was ‘Dre’ (Dre’Mont Jones). I think it really all comes down to effort. Those guys are playing their tails off and they’re giving 100 percent effort and that’s how you block kicks. It’s never a one-man show. It’s a complete team effort and we all work together. We work on it during the week. We worked together to drive the guard back and got two big blocks today,” Harris said.

***

Can’t Trust Fant

I like Noah Fant. I appreciate how hard he works, and I like the way he’ll answer tough questions after the game.
I do not like his blocking. Nobody does. We’ve seen times where players like Melvin Gordon look at him after a missed block that messes up a run play. That’s one instance of many this season, all due to Fant’s ineffective blocking.

Against Washington, we saw Fant get Teddy Bridgewater crushed on a sack. That sack was caused by Fant whiffing on his man. He just lacks the physicality to be an impact blocker. The skill of blocking is all about “want to” more than technique or strength. Those two attributes are important, but you must have the willingness to be a blocker in order to be an effective blocker no matter how big, strong or well coached you are.

If Fant doesn’t block better, we could see more from backup tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. He’s bigger, faster and stronger than Fant – so that makes him a better blocker while not giving up much as a receiver. Fant might be smoother when it comes to route-running, but Okwuegbunam can be a load to bring down after the catch – something we don’t see from the catch-and-fall-down plays we see from Fant.

Bridgewater talked about the group of tight ends and the return of Okwuegbunam.

“‘Big O’ brings a lot of excitement. When he catches the ball, he is looking to punish defenders. He’s running routes with precision, he understands everything that we’re asking of him. So to have a guy like him back out there today, and just to think that he is still getting back up to speed, it’s pretty scary. You add him, Noah, Eric (Saubert), those guys, the combination of talent. We’re excited to have those guys too,” Bridgewater said.

Follow @CecilLammey