Broncos defense showed adaptability in Week 5
Oct 8, 2024, 10:28 PM | Updated: Oct 9, 2024, 1:57 pm
The Denver Broncos didn’t have it right on defense early last Sunday.
And part of the reason was because the Broncos crafted their game plan for a Las Vegas attack with wide receiver Davante Adams as its primary thrust.
It is easier to adjust to an offense without a top-line talent than to prepare for that player to sit out, only to face him. Sean Payton pointed that out last week, citing the example of a 2009 game while with the New Orleans Saints in which it appeared all week that then-Dallas Cowboys edge rusher DeMarcus Ware wouldn’t suit up for the game. But Ware played, wreaked havoc and New Orleans’ bid to become the first undefeated champion since 1972 evaporated.
So, even with reports that Adams wouldn’t play, the Broncos didn’t buy into them.
“We kind of prepared all week for him to play and then him not playing, it was kind of a little bit of unknown going into the game,” safety Brandon Jones said. “So, I think we really didn’t know what to expect. We had an idea but didn’t know exactly to a tee what we were going to be given.
“… And I think they did a really good job when it came to all types of motionings, putting people in different places.”
And in what seemed like a flash — or, just long enough for first-round Brock Bowers to announce his presence as the likely new alpha of the Raiders’ pass-catching threats — Denver was down to the reshuffled Raiders, 10-0.
Last year, this was the sort of early discombobulation that would have sent the Broncos careening off their path and into the culvert of another embarrassing defeat. But it’s different now with an attacking defense, simplified in execution by its players but complex in appearance to its foes.
Vance Joseph adjusted, with the input of his players.
Las Vegas didn’t score again until the game was decided.
“We were able to make a lot of adjustments kind of on the fly, which is a part of the game,” Jones said. “… We got with the coaches and stuff on the sideline after every series and just kind of went to work from there.”
Broncos safety Brandon Jones said that Davante Adams not playing for Las Vegas yielded "kind of a little bit of unknown going into the game," as the Broncos had prepared for him to play. "So, I think we really didn't know what to expect. We had an idea but didn't know exactly to… pic.twitter.com/TD7WvvhPMJ
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 7, 2024
PASSING DEFENSE: B-PLUS
Early and late lapses sandwiched a dominant performance in the middle of the game that ensured the Broncos held the Raiders to a minus-0.272 EPA per dropback, the third-best figure in the NFL this week. Riley Moss and Pat Surtain made Raiders quarterbacks pay dearly for throwing in their direction.
RUSHING DEFENSE: B
Missed tackles were few, just two against the run. But Ameer Abdullah ripped off a 40-yard second-quarter run that was the longest allowed by the Broncos this year, and he had plenty of room with which to operate on the play. But that was basically all. Denver ranked 10th in the NFL in rushing defense EPA in Week 5, and Raiders running backs averaged just 40 yards on their other 19 carries in the contest as the defensive line got excellent penetration and Justin Strnad delivered exceptional work in chasing down multiple carries with a tackle for loss.
PASSING OFFENSE: B-MINUS
It took until the end of the first half before Bo Nix and the aerial game finally got untracked. Still, there were opportunities lost, such as the chance for the longest touchdown of the season that slipped just past the grasp of wide receiver Troy Franklin. The tight-end pass-catching production remains lacking, and Adam Trautman’s 19-yard catch generated just the second first down from the tight end position in five games this season.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B-PLUS
Denver ranked ninth in the NFL in rushing EPA for Week 5, and Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin combined to average a solid 4.37 yards per attempt. Using Marvin Mims Jr. on a jet sweep created one of the Broncos’ two longest runs of the day, and this is an element the team might be wise to try again in the coming weeks to get Mims more involved with the offensive game plan.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-MINUS
Mims finally had a breakthrough moment on special teams. The only penalty for the unit came on a late-game kickoff by Wil Lutz that went out of bounds — although there was intent to it given that a Las Vegas penalty ensured that kicking it out of bounds would only result in the ball being placed at the 25-yard line — since Lutz kicked off from midfield. Riley Dixon dropped three of his 6 punts inside the 20-yard line and the coverage units kept Las Vegas from registering any notable returns.