Clayton: Slowing down Burrow is the key for the Broncos on Sunday

The key for the Broncos this week is figuring out a way to stop Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

Burrow has been great this year. He’s put the Bengals in a great position to win the AFC North. Nobody expected that. He’s got a strong arm. He has great leadership and playmakers around him.

“He’s got great receivers,” Vic Fangio said this week. “Not only are they really, really good, but they’ve got size. They are all big a receivers go. They’re fast. They all have good hands and they are friendly to a quarterbacks with their size and their hands.”

It didn’t end there, however.

“Their tight ends are good,” Fangio added. “And they have good backs too. So there is no doubt he’s helped by that so there is no doubt he is helped by that. But he’s the type of quarterback that makes other players better too.”

The good news is the Broncos have the secondary that can try to keep his numbers down. The key is going to be the type of pressure they can get on him. It did help that left tackle Riley Reiff had to go on the injured reserve list. That leaves a little opening for the pass rush.

It’s an important game. The Broncos will have to rely on their defense to help win this game.