Clayton: No huddle isn’t a viable option for the Broncos right now

Aside from the criticism in Denver about Pat Shurmur and his offense, some are bringing up the idea of using more no huddle and going more up tempo earlier in games. It sounds good, but might not be viable.

Once again, people are forgetting the Broncos are without two of their top three receivers. Sure, in a week or two when they get Jerry Jeudy back, that can happen. Not now.

Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick has been great catching and not dropping passes, but going no huddle would lead to more passes than runs and potentially lead the Broncos into more turnovers. And don’t forget Sutton is still coming off an ACL injury from last year.

For now, the offense needs to be in the safe mode. Should the Broncos go no huddle and quicker pace?

“That’s a good thought,” Shurmur said. “I think there are times when we will do that. We are in what we call ‘save’ mode. When you get down by two scores, then you go a little faster. It’s not truly no huddle, but we are executing at the line of scrimmage. Our guys did a good job with that. It’s something to think about.”

But it’s not something to think about until gets Jeudy back. Still, this game against the Las Vegas Raiders will be a challenge.

The Broncos have to improve their 28.4 percent success rate on third-down conversions. They need to run the ball more. They have to find the right combination of offensive play calls. Of course, they are going against the Raiders team that has lost most of their good cornerbacks with injuries.

What the Broncos want to have happen is getting into a shootout with Derek Carr. Teddy Bridgewater has the ability to do that. He needs to stay out of third-and-longs and do well on early downs.

This game is vital for the Broncos. It’s their first division game and it’s a tough division.