NFL Slash

Get the latest NFL news, scores, stats, standings, fantasy games, and more from NFL Slash! The official source for NFL news, schedules, stats, scores and much more...

Breaking

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Home / Mile High Report - All Posts / NFL / 10 things we learned in the Broncos 27-17 win over the Lions

10 things we learned in the Broncos 27-17 win over the Lions

by on in ,
NFL: Detroit Lions at Denver Broncos Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos win one they should, with strong performances up and down the board in 27-17 win over the Detroit Lions.

The game today was more about the future than anything. With neither team still in contention for the playoffs and a combined 31 players on Injured Reserve, the things that mattered most went far beyond the scoreboard.

Still, a 27-17 win feels pretty darn good.

Here’s what we learned.

1. The Broncos safety depth mostly held up

When word came down that Kareem Jackson would be suspended two games for a DUI, the Broncos decided to give Trey Marshall the starting job. This meant Will Parks would stay at the nickel corner spot over Duke Dawson, which made sense in that Parks has looked far more comfortable there than when he played on the third level early this year.

It did leave a pretty big question at safety coming into today. Marshall was one of the biggest surprises out of training camp as he looked noticeable worse than Shamarko and Dymonte Thomas in the preseason.

With the Lions offense built around vertical shots there was pressure on Marshall to hit the ground running. He was a liability on Detroit’s first drive.

I basically forgot he was playing over the rest of the first half, which is a good thing. He’ll have a bigger test next week with Derek Carr and the Raiders, but I’m optimistic this season’s worth of coaching from Fangio and Ed Donatell will really help him down the road.

2. The Broncos’ pass rush abused the Lions protection.

When the secondary did it’s part David Blough was an easy target for the rush. The Lions have allowed 2.7 sacks per game across 2019, but Denver had 3 by the end of the first half.

One of the things I found really encouraging in the sack party was how many people participated. Malik Reed has been quietly doing work for most of the year since stepping in for the injured Bradley Chubb.

What also became obvious early on is how the Broncos rush was impacting plays even when they were bringing Blough to the ground. After Marshall’s blown coverage Von Miller came up big to force a field goal on third and goal. Throughout the game the Lions were sending extra bodies at him,and all of that attention helped to free up others.

3. Drew Lock looked comfortable early.

One of the big things I was looking for in this one was how Lock rebounded after the loss in Kansas City. As expected, it didn’t seem to phase him. In the first quarter Lock completed 4/6 passes for 39 yards and you could argue both of his misses should have been completions.

His first miss of the game was on the first play, a play action rollout where he was late to dump the ball down. Because of this Courtland Sutton couldn’t haul it in and stay inbounds.

His second miss was a great pass that Devontae Booker dropped. I had high hopes for Booker coming into the year, but it’d be surprising if Elway and the front office make any sort of real effort to resign him after next week. I would think a pass catching running back is a sneaky need for the 2020 roster.

4. The $#!+ team strike again.

Generally speaking, I try not to be the guy calling for another man’s job. But Tom McMahon has to go. Holy cow. By just about every measurement the Broncos’ special teams have been among the worst in the league this year.

5. The Broncos rushing attack was very right handed early.

Way back in the day, NFL offenses were built to run to the right. For this reason most teams tried to find a road grader right tackle. They’d then get a left tackle who could pull and lead and run plays like power and counter.

I couldn’t shake that thought today. Even when Wilkinson left the game, Denver continued to try and attack the left side of the Lions’ front. Coming into the game I noticed that by Adjusted Line Yards, Detroit was among the worst teams in the league at defending off of left tackle.

Maybe it was to avoid the Garett Bolles-Trey Flowers (who typically lines up at right end) matchup, or maybe it was because of Dalton Risner’s illness, but it was definitely noticeable.

6. The run defense will be an issue in Oakland.

Following halftime the Lions came out and ran the ball eight times to march down the field for a touchdown. It wasn’t really surprising given the tattered defensive line, but it was alarming all the same. Even with Todd Davis and Alexander Johnson doing their best to clean it up, without Wolfe or Jackson in the lineup Detroit found plenty of success.

Next week the Broncos will face what’s quietly been one of the best offensive lines in the league instead of the banged up Lions’. It could be ugly.

7. Remember when Vic Fangio hated analytics?

Way back in training camp the Broncos’ first year coach was asked about his view on analytics and the nerd analytics community got mad about his response. I said that it was an overreaction then, and with a game to go Denver is 11/16 on 4th downs this season.

8. Backups over-performed along the offensive line.

Before kickoff Austin Schlottmann was playing for a concussed Ron Leary. Jake Rodgers came in for Wilkinson in the first half, Patrick Morris came in for Dalton Risner in the second because the rookie guard was really sick. Even with all of that and facing an underrated Lions’ front, Phillip Lindsay averaged 5.7 yards per carry.

I did not mention any part of the Broncos’ run game as needing to prove themselves over these last two weeks. I got a few questions about it, specifically because Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay’s numbers are down from a year ago.

Big reason why I’m not worried about either is because the injuries. Denver had issues last year as well, but it is very rare for a backup tackle/guard to come in and wind up becoming a priority free agent like Billy Turner did. This year’s result with Wilkinson is far more common.

Which makes today’s performance from all of them as well as Lindsay even more exciting. Both Rodgers and Morris got their first regular season snaps ever and Denver still found success rushing.

9. Shelby Harris is a keeper.

Last week I mentioned how Harris may not be playing in orange and blue next year. I’d heard through the Twitter grape vine that he and Fangio didn’t see eye to eye and he’d try to find a bigger offer on the market.

While that last part may still be true, it seems necessary to follow it up with what happened on Tuesday. Harris mentioned on Twitter that those reports were a lie.

This feels a bit like reporting a lot of he said, he said, but I just want to say I hope Shelby comes back. He’s been a small sample size star his entire Broncos career. It’s been a blast to watch him these last three years and make the most of the opportunity when it finally came.

10. Drew Lock quietly has a really strong game.

I know the numbers were definitely better in the Houston Texans’ game, but I found Lock’s fourth start to be the most impressive of his young career. He looked poised in the pocket and managed the game at a level that we haven’t seen yet. Even with the tattered offensive line, Lock did not take a single sack or throw a pick today.

In particular, I really liked how Lock was willing to move off his primary read. He wasn’t falling out of the pocket on “fadeaways” too often and routinely took what the defense gave him. It meant some missed third downs conversions, but it showed growth in the rookie passer.

This wasn’t a strong Lions’ secondary, but after the punt return touchdown Denver faced a 0-10 deficit. At that moment there was definitely a bit of a “here we go again” feel, but the Broncos stuck to their gameplan and kept chipping away. Lock was poised and didn’t throw the game away channeling his inner Favre.

The 11 who impressed

Obviously Lock makes this. This game has me really excited to see the Oakland matchup. Beyond that though, there were some really strong performances on both sides of the ball. As always, this list could change once I get a chance to pore over the All-22, and it’s not necessarily ranked from most to least impressive.

1. Drew Lock

2. DaeSean Hamilton

3. Andrew Beck

4. Isaac Yiadom

5. Von Miller

6. Dre’Mont Jones

7. Conner McGovern

8. Phillip Lindsay

9. Jake Rodgers

10. Austin Schlottmann

11. Todd Davis

Final Thoughts

Let’s finish strong with a win over the homeless Oakland Raiders.



from Mile High Report - All Posts https://ift.tt/35SeqJa
Author Image

About Micheal Davis
Soratemplates is a blogger resources site is a provider of high quality blogger template with premium looking layout and robust design. The main mission of templatesyard is to provide the best quality blogger templates.

Related Posts:
By at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Adbox