The Denver Broncos eked out a 20-19 victory over Oakland to move to 2-0 on the season and prove they’re capable of handling adversity in back-to-back matchups.
In Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, quarterback Case Keenum tossed three interceptions, yet Denver overcame the turnovers for the win.
In Week 2, the Broncos overcame their largest second-half deficit (12 points) since Oct. 15, 2012, against the Chargers.
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Offensively it was a tale of two halves against the Raiders. In the first, the Broncos were held to only three first downs. But in the second, the offense found life with undrafted rookie Phillip Lindsay leading the charge. He finished with 111 yards from scrimmage, becoming the first undrafted rookie in league history to have 100 yards or more from scrimmage in each of his first two games.
Defensively the Broncos did not fare much better in the first two quarters. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 18 of his 19 passes and the Broncos rarely challenged Oakland’s wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. The defensive backs played off the ball and allowed the Raiders to connect for the entire first half on short, uncontested routes.
So how did the Broncos close the 12-0 halftime deficit? Let’s dive into the film:
The O-line gave Keenum time
Through two weeks of play the Broncos’ offensive line is easily the most improved group on the team. They have plowed the way for 314 yards on the ground in two games and they have done a great job of giving Keenum time to find his open receivers.
Take the first play of the second half as an example. The Broncos came out in heavy personnel with two tight ends to make Oakland think they are trying to run the ball. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave called a six-man play-action protection and the offensive line was able to come off the ball with a run sell. They got double-teams on two of the four pass rushers.
The run sell forced all three Raider linebackers to step up toward the line of scrimmage and vacate an empty area behind them. The offensive line, along with tight end Jake Butt, did a great job of staying on the rushers to give Keenum more than five seconds to survey the field and find a wide open Emmanuel Sanders, who sat in the soft spot that the Raiders’ linebackers vacated.
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Phillip. Lindsay.
This isn’t your average 5-foot-8,190-pound running back. Some backs go down if you graze their shoe string. Others like Lindsay don’t go down until the second or third attempted tackle.
This 11-yard run by Lindsay in the third quarter is a weak side one-back run, meaning the offensive line is out-leveraged by their linebackers and does not get to take advantage of angles like it can when a fullback is in the game. The linemen have to chase their out-leveraged linebackers almost 5 yards before making contact.
Watch the way Lindsay stretches the field, understanding that he has to pull the linebackers with him and then cut back behind his O-line because they will be blocking the linebackers’ backside shoulder.
Lindsay goes untouched for the first 4 yards of the run, shakes off the first tackler and then explodes into a mob of Raider defenders to gain an extra yard or 2 for a total of 11. This is a beautiful run by everyone on the field.
Denver’s defense tightened up in the fourth quarter
For much of the game, the Broncos allowed Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch to run free. On the back end the Broncos’ secondary played very soft against Oakland’s wideouts and effectively handed Carr a completion percentage of 90.6 percent, the fourth-best single-game percentage in league history.
Things changed in the fourth quarter.
Denver’s run defense became stout and the defensive backs began to press wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. This is how you defend a run by Lynch:
This play, from the third quarter, is made by two players: nose tackle Domata Peko and defensive end Zach Kerr. Peko is responsible for forcing the ball to go inside of him and he does a great job of moving nearly two gaps over the outside shoulder of right guard Gabe Jackson without losing ground. Kerr is the real hero of this play though. He begins on the left shoulder of left guard Kelechi Osemele, reads the play moving to his left and beats Osemele over the top.
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To defend a hard running back like Lynch, you must maintain gap integrity so that the running back is forced to run through a small window and then gang tackle him. That is exactly what the Broncos’ defense did on this well-executed play.
Altitude and a high tempo
I have long argued the Broncos should play with a higher tempo at home to force opposing teams to feel the altitude. Musgrave’s offense can’t take credit for the pressure change, but the Broncos are playing with speed and they are wearing teams out.
I am a Denver native so I’ve never been affected by the altitude. But having played games at the Broncos’ stadium both as a member of the team and as an opponent I can tell you that when I was wearing an away uniform my teammates would panic about the thin air. It was a constant battle to see who could get to the oxygen tank first and it was a mental struggle for my teammates who were not accustomed to playing at altitude.
Watch what happens during the Broncos’ 2-minute drive to win the game. Raiders defensive end and team captain Bruce Irvin (number 51) couldn’t muster up enough energy to put out something that even resembles a pass rush after dealing with the Broncos’ fast pace.
It may be a lack of effort on Irvin’s part, but it was clear the Broncos were better prepared in their conditioning as the Raiders’ pass rush nearly fell off the map at the end of the game.
Why the Broncos won …
It was not easy, nor was it pretty, but the Broncos outlasted their inferior opponent. Broncos fans might not feel great about barely sneaking out this win, but the team gained plenty of confidence by handling the slow start. It got hit in the face with adversity and it stepped up when it mattered most. The performances from talented young players Lindsay, Royce Freeman, Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick were key to the win, but so was the play of veterans Peko, Sanders and Von Miller.
(Top photo of Courtland Sutton: Ron Chenoy / USA TODAY Sports)