Mile High Report
What a breath of fresh air, this game was to watch as a fan of the Denver Broncos. All three phases of the game played well. As the game wore on, it seemed more and more like we were just passing time until the clock was all zeros. The cherry on top was that we swept the Raiders (may they continue swirling down the toilet of the NFL’s most hapless franchises).
The Broncos have some very meaningful games coming up, and it was good to see them handle business as one would expect, without needing a come-from-behind drive to get the win or a last-minute amazing play from the defense.
I loved seeing our offense execute so well this time around, compared to the defensive slugfest we got earlier this season against the Raiders. This time around, the offense had a plan on how to deal with Pete Carroll’s defense.
We also got to see what our run game can do when blocked properly. Giving the team some much-needed reps to the tune of 31 runs is going to pay dividends as the season winds down.
While we didn’t see the aerial assault that tickles most fans’ fancies, that was to be expected. Carroll, in typical fashion for his defenses, forced the Broncos to take the long path to successful offensive drives and minimized chunk plays by and large. So we got to see this offense rattle off 3 drives of over 9 minutes of offense that ended with points on the board.
I really liked what I saw from Bo Nix in this game. He played disciplined football and kept the ball out of harm’s way. This team didn’t need him to throw for 3 touchdowns in order to beat the Raiders. They needed him to keep the chains moving and use his legs at times to make plays.
His touchdown run was successful largely due to phenomenal execution on his part. It was clearly a designed run the whole way, but he looked Franklin’s way to get the spy linebacker to back away from where his running lane was going to be. With Wattenburg already up ahead and ready to block, it was fairly smooth sailing to the end zone for him.
There are many talking heads out there still picking nits about Nix not being flashy enough. This game isn’t going to shut them up. I can tell you the level of skill he had in this game isn’t going to be seen in touchdown passes or passing stats. He looked very well prepared for what the Raiders were going to bring to the table and constantly got the Broncos into the right play pre- and post-snap. He is seeing the game at a level a couple of years advanced of most 2nd-year quarterbacks in the NFL (and he should, given his college career).
Worth mentioning is what a good job Luke Wattenburg is doing. Earlier in the season, I was...
