Hackett on Broncos anemic defense vs. Bills: “Obviously nobody did good”

The Broncos were blasted by the Bills 42-15 on Saturday in Buffalo, and it wasn’t pretty.

A dive into the numbers on defense is shockingly bad. Yes, it’s preseason, but the Bills had their way with the Broncos, particularly on the ground. Buffalo racked up 208 rushing yards on just 27 attempts, good for 7.7 yards per carry.

In his postgame press conference, Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett was asked about what went so terribly wrong for Denver’s defense, even if a lot of the starters didn’t play.

“I felt like we were getting moved at the line of scrimmage. When you’re getting movement at the line of scrimmage and those backs aren’t touched until later, it’s hard to be able to stop them right out of the gate. We’ve got to be better there in the run game with the defense,” Hackett said.

Broncos inside linebacker Alex Singleton had a particularly bad missed tackle on the first drive that allowed Bills running back Devin Singletary to spring a big gain. Singleton, who finished with three tackles, could be a big bart of Denver’s defense, given the injury suffered to Jonas Griffith last week against the Cowboys.

The team is hopeful Griffith is ready for Week 1, but if not Singleton and the newly added Joe Schobert will see plenty of snaps. In that sense, it can’t be simply dismissed as a preseason game. Hackett knows Denver must address the issue.

“It’s first alignment assignment. That’s always the most important thing. We want to make sure they know what they’re doing and then now you go to their technique. How they do their technique and just simply if they’re getting physically outmatched,” Hackett said. “That’s why this is a great time. It doesn’t count. But in the end you get to evaluate all your guys.”

And evaluate the Broncos must do. Buffalo scored seemingly at will, putting up touchdowns each of the first six times they possessed the football. It was a brutal all around effort, particularly with bad tackling.

“You get six touchdowns on six drives, obviously nobody did good. So we have to evaluate the group as the whole and we’ve got to tackle better. We’ve got to hold the point better, everything,” Hackett said.

The Broncos will look at this tape, and rightfully so. But for fans, it might be best just to flush it. The run defense and tackling need to get better in a hurry. And Saturday afternoon in Buffalo will be a game Broncos Country never wants to think about again.
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