Why the Broncos know they must stop the run first
Nov 3, 2024, 12:04 AM | Updated: 12:08 am
BALTIMORE — Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph made it clear this week: Containing the Ravens on the ground will be the first priority.
“So, it’s going to be stop the run first,” Joseph said.
Some of that involves containing Baltimore’s reigning league MVP, quarterback Lamar Jackson. Two times the winner of the NFL’s premier individual honor, Jackson’s effectiveness is drawn from his ability to force defenses into uncomfortable choices.
“I don’t think it’s anyone in the league who runs the ball as good as those guys because of Lamar. It’s like Michael Vick back in the day.”
But containing Jackson doesn’t involve spying him. Not anymore, since he can flourish as a pocket passer.
“I think sometimes with a spy, if it’s not an aggressive spy, [Jackson] can sit in the pocket with a three-man rush and find open targets,” Joseph said. “And that’s the issue with Lamar.
“Now I think when he was a young quarterback the spy was good because you want him to be a pocket passer. Now he’s so accurate that kind of works against you a little bit. So, if you’re going to spy a guy like that it’s gotta be a push-him-off-his-spot spy.”
“… Almost a hunt versus a spy.”
The fact that the Broncos possess defenders who have succeeded in corralling Jackson helps. Edge rusher Jonathon Cooper knows; he sacked Jackson two years ago in a game that saw Jackson’s season end.
“You gotta know who he is. You gotta know he’s got a stiff-arm. When you get into a space, he can feel you. He’s got quick feet, he can move,” Cooper explained.
“I mean, he can jump=cut faster than anybody. So, you just gotta make sure when you get there, you finish. … You have to really break down and look at his hips and get him on the ground.
“… It all just starts with taking that extra step and having your eyes in the right place.”
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And from an individual perspective, that’s what matters. But from a group perspective, it’s this: Doing enough to stop other runners to keep the ball in Jackson’s hands and make the offense center around him, and not running back Derrick Henry.
That’s because one thing the Ravens have learned over the last six-plus seasons is this: The more players other than Jackson are involved, the more successful they are.
44-3
Baltimore’s record — including postseason — when at least 35 percent of its snaps do not involve Jackson rushing or throwing the football. This includes a 4-0 record this year and 18 wins in a row when reaching that threshold — 15 of which have come in the last two seasons.
When at least 65 percent of their offensive plays involve Jackson running or passing, Baltimore is 20-22 in games that the seven-year veteran plays to their completion.
27-4
That is the Ravens’ record when Jackson does not turn the ball over in the full games he’s played. With one giveaway, they have a 30-13 mark; when he turns the ball over twice, they’re 7-8.
1-7
That is the Broncos’ record against the Ravens in Baltimore. Only the 2012 team — the first with Peyton Manning as the club’s starting quarterback — saw Denver emerge from M&T Bank Stadium victorious, triumphing by a 34-17 count that was part of an 11-game winning streak that the Ravens ended in the divisional round 27 days later.
