Renck: Broncos find championship test in ‘trap game’ vs. Bills
Sep 21, 2017, 12:00 AM | Updated: 8:16 pm
It’s an early East Coast start, the Oakland Raiders await an important AFC West matchup in Week 4, and the hype has ramped up as the Denver Broncos move to an impressive 2-0.
Week 3 on the road against the Buffalo Bills has all the makings of a trap game, Denver 7 Insider Troy Renck told “Schlereth & Evans” on Wednesday.
“This is where you find out if you’re a championship type team and a division-winning type team,” Renck said. “… Just take care of business.”
Renck said it’s important for the Broncos to find a way to win on the road, even if it’s a grind or ugly, pointing to the Super Bowl 50 winning team that went 6-2 on the road on the way to a world championship.
“Remember, that year they went 6-2 on the road and they rarely gave up points on the road,” Renck said. “They found a way to just stay in games and win late.”
That season, the Broncos gave up 30 or more points on the road just once, a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and held opponents to under 25 points six times.
Renck said he thinks Denver could utilize the same formula against the Bills to win on Sunday as they did against Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys this past weekend: stuff the run and be “explosive” on offense.
“I just think this team is more explosive, and if they stop the run, they can win easily because Tyrod Taylor is not better than Prescott if he’s forced into obvious pass situations,” Renck said.
Through two games, the Broncos offense ranks fourth in the NFL in yards (701), first in rushing yards (318), and first in passing touchdowns (tied with the Detroit Lions with 6).
And in Week 2, Denver’s defense held Ezekiel Elliott to just 8 yards on 9 rushes.
“This offense, though, has a chance to make it a little more comfortable because they can score,” Renck said. “The offense a couple of years ago, I mean, it was let’s see who gets the ball last, go get a field goal or hold the other team from beating us on the last possession.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
