Three observations from the Broncos loss to the Browns in Week 7

The Denver Broncos played their only primetime game of the 2021 season on “Thursday Night Football,” as they traveled to play the Cleveland Browns. Things didn’t go well, as they fell 17-14, their fourth-straight loss of the season. After starting 3-0, the Broncos are now 3-4 and things could be changing on the horizon.

After the game, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio shared his opinion bluntly.

“Very disappointing. You look at the final score of 17-14 and you are going to think that 17 points is good enough defensively, but we did not play good defense tonight. We let them drive it too much. Way too many third-and-ones. We just did not play well enough to win the game,” Fangio said.

Here are the top-three observations from the Broncos-Browns game.

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Can’t Stop the Run

The Browns were without starting running back Nick Chubb and primary backup Kareem Hunt in Week 7, but that didn’t stop them from running the ball effectively. D’Ernest Johnson got to start for the Browns, and he immediately showed that he can produce in that role. Johnson had big gains on the Browns first drive, leading them to a score, and he finished the game against the Broncos with 146 yards rushing.

Johnson was productive because he understands the system he operates in – the zone-blocking system. He’s not the biggest or fastest running back, but Johnson showed good patience to the entry point and then had good burst when he chose to bend, bang or bounce. Johnson kept his feet moving after contact, and he fought for every yard on the night.

Even when the Browns went to rookie Demetric Felton they were able to gash the Broncos on the ground. Johnson has good size and intent as a runner, but Felton is a smaller back who plays more like a slot receiver working from the backfield. That didn’t matter as Felton used speed and quick moves to create space against the Broncos rush defense.

Fangio admitted they had a difficult time stopping the run because that’s what the Browns do well no matter who is toting the rock.

“What they do every week – they run it good. Even though they were missing their two backs (Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt), any good running game starts with the offensive line. They have a good line, and they do a good job of blocking. They have a good scheme,” Fangio said.

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Teddy is Broken… Doesn’t Matter

The Broncos decided to start quarterback Teddy Bridgewater even though he was banged up during the week of practice with a foot injury. Video footage of Bridgewater merely walking to practice on Wednesday dominated local Twitter accounts, and sports talk radio was hot with the speculation that we might see Drew Lock.

Instead of going with the backup quarterback, the Broncos decided to play a banged-up Bridgewater. You could easily see that Bridgewater was not himself in the game against the Browns. He couldn’t keep plays alive with his feet as easily as he used to, and some of his passes just seemed off.

As per usual, Bridgewater’s struggles in the first half went away when the opponent started to play off coverage in the second half. Once again, Bridgewater ended with a good statistical day but the Broncos fell short.

Fangio said changing quarterbacks didn’t cross his mind. When asked if he thought about changing quarterbacks because Bridgewater was banged up, Fangio simply replied “I did not.” He did expand on that when praising Bridgewater for his play.

“I thought he played good, especially there in the second half. I do not think Teddy’s injuries from my vantage point affected him that much. I thought that he was courageous. He is our quarterback,” Fangio said.

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Third Down? No Problem!

The Browns were able to keep drives alive because they were nearly perfect on third down. Whether it was a rushing play from Johnson or a passing play from quarterback Case Keenum, the Browns were able to keep the Broncos at bay because of their third-down efficiency.

Early the game, the Browns were perfect, but they ended the contest going 9-of-15 on third down. They also went 1-for-1 on fourth down against the Broncos. When the Broncos defense needed to stop the Browns, they simply could not. The defensive struggles continued in Week 7, and with 10 days before their next game, I don’t know how the team will improve enough to beat good teams.

Fangio was asked after the game what they need to do after four losses so the season does not slip away.

“We have to rally. We have to overcome our injuries. They can’t use them as excuses. We have to get back to playing better football as a team. Make more first downs, which will lead to touchdowns on offense. Play the run better on defense so that you do not get so many third-and-ones and third-and-twos. We just have to play better, and we have to coach better. I do not want to be remiss in saying that. We have to coach better, and we have got to adjust to what we have right now,” Fangio said.

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