It was a big deal for the Broncos to score 20 … but not anymore
Dec 12, 2023, 3:27 AM
In this Broncos season of renewal, it’s still appropriate to note the recent past. Not because the 2023 edition of the team is bound by it, but to remember the place from which it came … and to note accomplishments along the way, even though they may seem modest on the surface.
Sometimes, even the most modest accomplishments are worth savoring. Such as breaking 20 points. That’s a fairly average output, to be sure. But in recent years, it proved elusive, much to the consternation of Broncos fans.
A number tied to that is where this week’s postgame look at the numbers begins:
9
Games in which the Broncos scored at least 20 points so far this season, including Sunday’s 24-point tally. That is already the most for the Broncos in any season since 2018, when they also had 9 games reaching 20 points.
In that campaign — Vance Joseph’s second as head coach — the Broncos failed to reach 20 points after doing so nine times in the season’s first 12 games. This team appears poised to be different.
The Broncos are also flourishing on the other side of the ball; since Week 6, Denver ranks second in the league, allowing just 15.1 points per contest. Only Minnesota has yielded fewer yards in that span.
15
Sacks for the Broncos in their last three games. That’s the most for the Broncos in any three-game span of a single season since Weeks 4-6 of the 2015 campaign that ended with a Broncos Super Bowl win.
Sunday, six different Broncos recorded at least one sack: Zach Allen, Josey Jewell, P.J. Locke, Ja’Quan McMillian, Justin Simmons and Alex Singleton.
“I think everyone’s competing to make plays, which is definitely a lot of fun,” Allen said. “Instead of survival, you’re trying to excel, which is the way the defense is made to be played, and [defensive coordinator Vance Joseph], he calls a great game. Everyone’s going to get their opportunity. It’s a really fun defense to be a part of.
“I think this is the best defense — by far — I’ve ever been a part of.”
This is also the first time the Broncos have recorded at least 4 sacks in three-consecutive games since the fourth through sixth games of the 2020 season, when the Broncos had 6 sacks at the expense of the New York Jets and then 4 sacks in games against the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, which the Broncos split.
1, 16, 17
Those numbers represent Russell Wilson’s ranking in Pro Football Focus offensive grade, EPA (expected points added) per play and ESPN QBR for Week 14 among 27 eligible quarterbacks heading into Monday night.
In other words, you can find whatever you want to support your theory on Wilson’s play. Reality is probably somewhere in the middle, and Wilson’s average rank in those metrics is 11.3 of those 27 — perhaps to be pushed lower by the work of Giants rookie Tommy DeVito and Packers starter Jordan Love during Monday night’s play.
