The Broncos game plan for beating the Lions in Week 14

The Denver Broncos must put their embarrassing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13 behind them. They return home to play the Detroit Lions in Week 14, and they should be able to get back on the winning track.

The Broncos should not overlook the Lions. They are not an overly talented team, and they are not necessarily a well-coached team. Their head coach, Dan Campbell, lacks experience but he tries to make up for it with fire-and-brimstone in the huddle. Say what you wil about the hapless Lions, but they will fight as much as they can on game day.

How will the Broncos attack the Lions on both sides of the ball? Let’s take a look.

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When the Broncos Run the Ball

Outside or inside runs will work against the Lions rush defense. Well, pretty much anything will work if you attack the Lions with your running backs.

Javonte Williams got the first start of his career last week against the Chiefs and rushed for over 100 yards. His over 170 all-purpose yards featured how he can be used as a banger between the tackles or a receiving threat out of the backfield. He started because regular starter Melvin Gordon was banged up. This week, Gordon is back. That means the Broncos could be back to the time share in the backfield that keeps both backs fresh.

There’s a chance that Gordon gets eased back into the lineup because of the confidence the team must have in Williams after his big day in Week 13. No matter what happens, we should see both backs on Sunday. Gordon knows what Williams can do, and he praised him this week when asked about the rookie’s performance.

Melvin Gordon knows that Javonte Williams is a star pic.twitter.com/bBccdCF95o

— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 10, 2021

In addition to Williams and Gordon, Bridgewater himself can pick up yards with his legs if the passing play does not develop. No matter who is rushing the rock, the Broncos should have great success. I wouldn’t mind seeing Williams get a bulk of the work on his way to what could be a 1,000-yard season – as a rookie – in a time share. Williams is a talented back and should be featured going forward whether the Broncos are in the playoff chase or not.

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When the Broncos Pass the Ball

Bridgewater hasn’t performed well as a passer. Sure, his numbers look good – high completion percentage, nice TD-to-INT ratio, etc – but this is the type of game where he could play better in crunch time. The Lions won’t give him much to worry about. If Bridgewater has a bad game this week, then the Broncos will have to worry – and maybe make a quarterback change that they’ll never make (let’s just be honest).

The football world, and Broncos Country specifically, was saddened by the loss of former Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. His teachings with guys like Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick still resonate to this day. Thomas was big, fast and physical – just like Sutton and Patrick are – and I’m sure his wisdom was handed down when they were teammates.

A young Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick Jr. standing back taking notes from a legend.

DT’s gifts/talents are still with us in that way and will be continually passed down 🧡 pic.twitter.com/lLAp4MrgwI

— Broncos Brain 🧠 🥶 (@BroncosBrain) December 10, 2021

I’d like to see more Sutton, but anyone will do. I think we’re going to see inspired play from Sutton and Patrick specifically, but his connection Jerry Jeudy has with Bridgewater always makes him a dangerous target as well.
The chances are there for the Broncos to run away with this game. Perhaps they’ll do that by lighting a fire under the passing game.

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When the Lions Run the Ball

The top two running backs for the Lions will not play on Sunday. Their regular starter, D’Andre Swift, is going to miss another game with a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since Week 11, and they’ve used co-starter Jamaal Williams as their lead back. Williams is out for the game against the Broncos as he was placed on the Reserve/COVID list on Friday.

That leaves rookie Jermar Jefferson as their starter against the Broncos. Jefferson (illness) fully participated in practice Friday, Dec. 10, and is not on the injury report for Week 14. I liked his game at Oregon State, and I felt any team who drafted him in the mid rounds would be getting a valuable pick. The Lions really got a steal, in my opinion, when Jefferson fell all the way to the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Jefferson is not overly explosive, but his vision and the way he uses pace to sets up rushing lanes make him look faster than he is. He’s got tremendous start-stop moves and can simply make defenders look silly in a limited space. Jefferson runs compact, but he’s not a small back at 217 pounds. Overall, I thought Jefferson could be a better version of Devontae Booker if he plays up to his potential. He’s gotten some touches here and there for the Lions, and Jefferson has two touchdowns on just 27 snaps in four games played.

JERMAR JEFFERSON: HOME-RUN HITTER

pic.twitter.com/D31Xicrawf

— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) November 21, 2020

I’m not expecting the Lions to be in this game for very long, and that means they should turn from their ground game as they’ll have to play ‘catch up’ football. That’s not going to ding Jefferson as much because he’s a versatile player who can thrive in open space. The Broncos may limit him as a runner (so will the game script), but Jefferson can still do plenty of damage as a receiver.

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When the Lions Pass the Ball

Just like the running back group, the receivers and tight ends on this team are banged up or on the COVID list. Let’s start with their best weapon in the passing game, tight end T.J. Hockenson who is out with a hand injury. That’s a huge piece of the offense that isn’t going to play, so the Lions will be looking to others to pick up the slack. That help could come in the form of a first-year player.

Also like the running backs, the Lions will be led this week by a rookie. Amon-Ra St. Brown is an exciting player with a well-rounded skill set. St. Brown caught 10-of-12 targets for 86 yards and one touchdown in the Lions’ Week 13 win over the Vikings.

St. Brown was a fourth-round pick out of USC in the 2021 NFL draft, and he was the hero of last week’s win. It was the rookie’s last-second touchdown catch that put the Lions in the “W” column for the first time this season. They’ll be looking for him to make big plays again if they want to go back-to-back.

#Lions Amon-Ra St. Brown is the third rookie to record his first career touchdown reception with no time remaining in the fourth quarter since 2000.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/lMRhGq6UC7

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 6, 2021

The Lions should be able to post some garbage time numbers, but when the game is at hand, I doubt they’ll find much success against the Broncos defense. St. Brown is the top weapon, but he’s got little experience against press coverage. During his three-year career with the Trojans, St. Brown faced press coverage on only 148 snaps. Put first-round cornerback Patrick Surtain on St. Brown and press him at the line of scrimmage – you should have great success with that plan.

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