By Mike Johnson >>
- These were the two highest scoring fantasy defenses of the opening week, but much of that had to do with the opponents they faced.
- Daniel Jones appears on the path to a career resurgence and is giving utility to the skill players on the Colts offense.
- Colts TE Tyler Warren’s role was elite in his NFL debut, while WR Josh Downs was relegated to a “slot only” role in three wide receiver sets.
- The Denver backfield was a somewhat messy three man rotation, with J.K. Dobbins and rookie RJ Harvey both having strong games behind the Broncos elite offensive line.
- Broncos QB Bo Nix struggled in his sophomore season debut, averaging only 4.4 yards per pass attempt and turning the ball over three times.
How denver Will Try To Win ::
The Broncos, rightfully, have Super Bowl aspirations this season as they seemingly have the pieces to be a contender. They have a young and dynamic quarterback, improved weapons in the receiving and running game, an elite offensive line, and possibly the top defense in the league. Expectations are high, but in Week 1 their performance was disappointing in many areas despite their eventual victory. Denver turned the ball over four times, struggled to sustain drives or create explosive plays, and had some special teams lapses that allowed the Titans to hang around. We must remember that Week 1 is where many teams shake the rust off; however, and the Titans defense is far better than most people realize. Time to move along and focus on Week 2.
On the surface, this is a matchup of a team that had the most turnovers in the league in Week 1 and a defense that forced the second most turnovers in the league to start the season. However, the Colts defense teed off on a predictable Dolphins offense who has one of the worst offensive lines in the league. Miami was unable to generate a consistent running game and fell behind early, which exaggerated the problem. Denver should be able to have success on the ground, which will open up their passing game and set up more manageable down and distance situations. While the turnovers may be concerning, we also know that they are highly variant and it seems unlikely that the Colts will continue forcing them at such a high rate or the Broncos will keep making those crippling mistakes. The early down success of Denver is critical to their success and they should be much better in that area in this matchup.
Despite hope for a more condensed offense, the Broncos continued to have positional rotations in place in Week 1. Three different running backs played at least 18% of the offensive snaps, with veteran J.K. Dobbins leading the way in snaps and touches. Rookie RJ Harvey looked great and had a 50-yard run in the second half, but Tyler Badie was also in the mix which limits the ceiling of the other two. Three different tight ends played at least 28% of the team’s snaps, while Courtland Sutton played basically every snap and three other wide receivers (Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, and Trent Sherfield) all played between 34% and 60% of the team’s snaps. Just a messy situation and hard to trust anyone.
All of the frustrating personnel usage aside, the Broncos offense is positioned to have a strong bounce back in Week 2. Improved early down efficiency against a softer rushing defense should in turn lead to more sustained drives, fewer turnovers, and more explosive plays. The Broncos are likely to have an emphasis on their running backs early in this game and may also look to lean on schemed plays to Mims and Franklin. Sutton is the constant in this offense and is likely to see his usual strong usage rate, but head coach Sean Payton often likes to ease him into games and get the defense’s attention focused elsewhere before allowing Nix to lock onto him.
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