Facing Lamar Jackson is an even bigger problem for Denver than you think

Lamar Jackson has more rushing yards this season than everybody currently on the Broncos active roster, and has thrown twice as many touchdowns as Denver has.

The Broncos are preparing for Jackson’s Ravens, who they face on Sunday. Not having an adequate player in practice to represent the unique talent of Jackson on the scout team is normal for most teams in the league. The issue for Denver is that they don’t even have a player who can do any of the things the NFL MVP does every single week.

During press conferences on Thursday, members of the Broncos’ coaching staff were pressed for the game plan in shutting down Jackson. They didn’t reveal anything—which is normal. But the coaches didn’t even give the media the cutesy story you’re used to seeing about the third-string wide receiver who played some quarterback in high school that is playing as Jackson at practice this week. Why? For one, Denver has shown to be underprepared plenty of times this season and most importantly, they’ve got nobody who can pass or run like Jackson.

“You can’t simulate Lamar, he’s a rare rare talent,” Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “We put some guys out there and they try their hardest and it looks good at times and not as good at other times but we try to get the best look we possibly can.”

“Josh (Johnson) has done a good job. Brett (Rypien) has done a good job,” he said. “We still needed to have the threat of throwing, when you put somebody else in there, we want the same tendencies to show up but no matter who you put back there, you can’t mimic him.”

The Broncos are big underdogs in the matchup between the 7-4 AFC North and 3-8 AFC West teams.

“You definitely got to have a plan in terms of how you attack them in the run and pass game,” Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said.  “I don’t want to give up too many secrets but…I don’t know if there’s ever been a player like this…He’s big, he’s strong, he’s hard to tackle, he’s probably the fastest guy on the field and he can throw the ball too. There’s a lot of factors there and he’s a special player.”

Last season the Broncos faced Jackson and the Ravens. Baltimore beat Denver at Mile High, winning 23-7. They got 316 through the air from the quarterback and another 28 on the ground. It was his worst rushing performance of the 2021 season.

In 2022 Denver’s defense has been one of the better units in the NFL, though teams have found success running against the Broncos. The orange and blue are allowing 121 yards per game on the ground, which is in the bottom half of the league. The Broncos biggest loss by margin was last week in Carolina when the Panthers only needed 19 passes to ease by Denver 23-10.

Not only will the Broncos have their hands full stopping a single player who creates as much offense as Denver’s entire team, but the Broncos offense will also have to find a way to equal Jackson as well. A tall task for a struggling team.

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