For the first time in a decade, the Denver Broncos have summited the AFC West. They are now a single win away from being the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
While Mile High has plenty of reason to celebrate, there’s still one underlying issue. This could ultimately spoil Denver’s magical season come January.
There aren’t many areas that fans can point to and say, “That’s going to cost them,” when it comes to the Broncos this year. One of the best defenses in football and a top 10 offense stand out. They also boast six Pro Bowl selections — the list goes on. Denver checks all the big boxes. So why does it seem they’re always making mistakes?
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Sloppy Win At Arrowhead
Fundamentals are a key piece to winning in sports, and football is no exception. While Denver certainly has the talent to make a run in the playoffs, they have to clean up their fundamental play. Missed tackles, dropped passes, and penalties are all simple mistakes. These need to be cleaned up.
In their Christmas showdown against the Chiefs, the Broncos barely escaped Arrowhead with a win. Kansas City’s third-string quarterback, Chris Oladokun, was manning the offense. Being in such a close contest with a backup quarterback is not ideal. Denver’s defense struggled yet again to make tackles. This allowed a few big plays that should’ve been stopped far sooner.
The story of this past Thursday, though, was dropped passes. Pro Bowl receiver Courtland Sutton failed to snag three crucial balls in big spots. This ultimately led to another one-score game. In the first half alone, Bo Nix found Sutton downfield multiple times, just for it to slip through his hands and fall to the grass.
The one stand-out drop, though, was in the back of the end zone. Denver should’ve had an easy six points, yet Sutton couldn’t hang on, and the Broncos settled for a field goal.
Need To Improve The Basics
Simple fundamentals like catching passes are essential to success. It may sound cliché, but it’s very true. Against playoff teams, missing multiple key opportunities like Sutton did will almost always lead to a loss. Great teams don’t allow second chances, and Denver learned that the week prior against Jacksonville.
Against Jacksonville, Denver also struggled to bring down the Jaguars. This ultimately led to big run plays. Because of the plethora of errors, Denver lost that game by their biggest margin of the season. Teams like Jacksonville won’t allow the Broncos to get away with constant mistakes like that.
Plethora of Penalties
Denver also happens to be one of the most penalized teams in the NFL this season. We’ve seen these penalties affect the Broncos since week two, when they lost to the Colts on a game-winning field goal. The original kick was wide. However, Denver was called for a leverage penalty that allowed the Colts to re-try the kick.
Players like Riley Moss have contributed significantly to the Broncos’ league-leading 1,144 penalty yards this year. Moss has been called for 12 penalties this season, with five of them coming on third down. To go far in the playoffs, Moss, along with his teammates, is going to have to play smarter football.
Their Ceiling
It’s not all bad for Denver, though. The Broncos thrived with time of possession against the Chiefs, almost doubling Kansas City’s. It’s become prevalent that RJ Harvey is the main source of offense for Denver, and it seems to be working flawlessly. If they can simply clean up small mistakes, there’s no telling how far the Broncos can go.
Their final test of the regular season comes next Sunday, when they will host the Chargers. A win would give them the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a much-needed bye week, leaving them fresh for the divisional round.
That time off could be just what Denver needs to clean up those mistakes and help them gear up for a big playoff run.
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