Three numbers to know for Broncos-Rams
Dec 24, 2022, 5:23 PM | Updated: 5:24 pm
LOS ANGELES — When it comes to the Broncos as the season winds down, you’re looking for progress at any spot in which you can find it.
And the seven touchdowns scored in the past two games are the most tangible evidence that Nathaniel Hackett’s offense is starting to click.
Yes, short fields helped. Two of those drives began in opposing territory — including one at the Arizona 5-yard line last week. But three of those drives covered at least 75 yards.
It’s a positive, no matter how you slice it — and startlingly better than what came before:
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20
That is the number of possessions it took for the Broncos to score seven touchdowns, starting with their first scoring drive against the Chiefs in Week 14.
That means the Broncos have as many touchdowns in their last 20 series as they had in the previous EIGHTY-THREE, a run that extends from the second quarter of their Week 6 game against the Los Angeles Chargers through the second quarter of Week 14.
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8
Interception total of the last three games. That is the Broncos’ best 3-game tally of interceptions since the first three weeks of the 2015 season, when the “No-Fly Zone” was in its imperial phase.
Further, the Broncos have back-to-back games with three interceptions. The last time they did that was 22 years ago — in Weeks 6 and 7 of the 2000 season. Denver racked up those picks at the expense of Jim Harbaugh (Chargers) and Tim Couch (Browns).
Obviously, having one of those 3-INT games at the expense of Patrick Mahomes has a bit more heft than the turn-of-the-century accomplishment.
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1
Touchdown catches by Courtland Sutton this year. Among the 48 wide receivers with at least 70 targets through Week 15, only Pittsburgh’s Diontae Johnson has fewer touchdown receptions.
Chicago’s Chase Claypool, Tennessee’s Robert Woods and Houston’s Brandin Cooks also have one touchdown apiece.
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EXTRA NUMBERS:
2: Broncos wins on Christmas Day all-time, against one loss.
24.5: The average points allowed by the Rams since Week 10. Opponents scored at least 24 points on the Rams in five of the last six weeks. Only the Raiders in Week 14 failed to reach 24 points. Not coincidentally, that is the Rams’ only win in that span.
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