Broncos’ run game has improved, but according to Meinerz, excecution ‘not to team standard’

The Denver Broncos’ offensive line would seem to be the unit on the team that appears to have the least to fix after three games.

The starting quintet is a darling of analytics services. According to both Pro Football Focus and ESPN Analytics, the Broncos have the most efficient pass-protection unit. The pressure rate allowed by the Broncos is the best in the league per PFF, and the pass-block win rate is tops in the NFL according to ESPN Analytics.

And the ground game has become among the league’s most productive. The Broncos rank eighth in rushing offense and fourth in yardage per carry.

But consistency has been lacking. Bolstering the ground game are two explosive runs from RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins of 50 and 41 yards, respectively; take those out of the equation and the Broncos are averaging 4.1 yards per attempt.

That lack of consistency reflects in the Broncos’ EPA/play (expected points added) and success-rate rankings on the ground; Denver ranks 17th and 24th in those metrics, respectively.

And in terms of run-block win rate, a Broncos offensive line that ranked first in the NFL per ESPN Analytics last year sits 13th in that same metric through three weeks.

No owner Quinn Meinerz isn’t satisfied.

BRONCOS AREN’T REACHING “STANDARD,” MEINERZ SAYS

“Execution in the run game is not to this team standard and this offensive standard,” Meinerz said.

That meant Monday’s “de-briefing,” as Broncos coach Sean Payton puts it, left players turning inward to point the finger at themselves.

“[Monday] was a big thumbs-pointing-in kind of a day and understanding that everybody in every single room needs to get better. And we’re going to do that together,” Meinerz said.

“As players and as coaches, we’re all going to get better. It’s unfortunate to lose another close game like that. You know, it hurts, it stings, whatever.

“But these are games — you win games and you learn from your losses. So, this a big learning game, for us as an offense and moving forward, we’ll be better because of it.”

The primary lessons? Cut the self-inflicted wounds — specifically penalties, especially of the pre-snap and mental-mistake ilk — and stop falling behind schedule with poor form on first down.

Denver faced an average second-down length of 9.3 yards on Sunday, the NFL’s second-worst figure in Week 3.

Over the course of the season, just seven teams have a worse average second-down distance required than the Broncos’ figure of 8.1 yards needed for the line to gain.

“We all need to execute together, all the time,” Meinerz said. “And understanding that there’s maybe a missed block here or there, a pressure given up, a hit given up, there’s some penalties that we have.

“… There’s a lot of things that go into a play being ran correctly and well for an offense. And obviously we have some leadership and we also have some young players. And as we continue to develop our offense, we really need to work together better and execute better.”

“Together” being the operative word. Even though the Broncos are a team whose players focus on themselves when evaluating what goes awry rather than pointing the finger at others, the solutions must come as a unit.

“It’s not just one person. It’s not just one play. It’s us as a collective,” Meinerz said.

“We need to play better football.”

And that starts up front, even though that still appears to be one of the finest units on the roster.

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