By Jordan Long
The NFL season officially kicks off tonight when the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans. The Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans wrap up week 1 when they play the last game of the doubleheader on Monday Night Football.
Denver was 7-9 last year. 6 of their losses were 8 points or less. If they won even half of those games, they would have made the playoffs. Instead, they missed the postseason for the 4th year in a row since they won Super Bowl 50. The Broncos are hoping to end that drought this year.
Denver’s offense struggled to move the ball last season. They averaged 298.6 yards per game, 5th worst in the league. The Broncos had trouble passing the football with 194.7 yards per game. The bright spot for the offense was running the football. They were able to carry the football to open up the passing game averaging 103.9 yards per game.
Drew Lock is the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. This will be his first full season as the starter. Last year was Lock’s rookie year appearing in 5 games. Denver’s record was 4-1. He played well with 1,020 yards and 7 touchdowns. Lock was careful with the football, tossing 3 interceptions. The Broncos offense in the passing game will rely on the arm of Lock. He has a strong arm but must be able to find the open receivers. He can’t take risks throwing into double coverage.
Lock’s favorite target has been Cortland Sutton. He is now the veteran for the wide receiver core. The other receivers include rookies Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler. Lock will also look for tight end Noah Fant. All of them are going to need to step up and grab the football. Those catches can be for 1st downs or longer. If they can, Denver should be able to score more than the 17.6 points per game they put up last year.
The key for the offense besides throwing the football is gaining yards on the ground. Those runs will keep the defenses off-balance. Denver knows creating holes for Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay to run through will help the offense set the tone.
Defense might be the greatest strength for the team. They will be without the services of Von Miller who could be out for the season dealing with a dislocated peroneal tendon. Denver is going to have to depend on Bradly Chubb, Alexander Johnson, and Josey Jewell to rush the quarterbacks from the linebacker position.
The defensive line must create pressure up front and stop the run. These include newcomer Jurrell Casey, Shelby Harris, and Mike Purcell. If they can find a way to be in the face of the quarterbacks, this will make them throw it sooner than they want to which could be interceptions. Otherwise they will hold onto the ball which will equal sacks. Those might flip the field for the Broncos offense to have a shorter field to work with to score points.
The Broncos secondary must play better. There were times last season where they let a tight end have a large gain or the wide receivers would be wide open. That can’t happen this season. Denver upgraded the cornerback position with A.J. Bouye after Chris Harris went to the L.A. Chargers. He most likely will be matched up on the opponents’ top receivers. Teams may not throw his way because of his ability to knock the football down and pick the football off. The Broncos’ other cornerback in Bryce Callahan should be ready for footballs to come his way and make a play. They can’t allow teams to consistently move the football through the air.
The Broncos know they have to perform better than last season. If they can go 2-2 or even 3-1 in the first 4 games, that may set the tone for the year.
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