Mile High Report
The Denver Broncos are in control of their own destiny relative to their postseason aspirations. The next step in the process? Doing what’s necessary to reign victorious over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Good morning, Broncos Country.
The next four weeks of the season are the most important the Denver Broncos will have endured in ages. It has been eight years since they’ve achieved a winning record. It has been a year longer since they have reached the postseason. That’s when they were victorious over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 and one of the last football memories Broncos Country could be happy reminiscing about.
Nobody knows what will happen by month’s end, but I’m damn happy the Broncos are playing relevant football in December. While the Broncos can’t clinch a playoff berth outright with a win on Sunday, their matchup against the Indianapolis Colts may be one of their most important games in the aforementioned timespan—not just this season.
At 8-5, the Broncos sit alongside the Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens with the same record in the AFC’s playoff chase. However, the Chargers and Ravens have the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker relative to playoff seating due to their wins over Denver earlier in the year. That’s just one of the reasons this weekend’s gridiron battle is a must-win for them. They can’t afford to lose another tie breaker for a team looking to make their way into the postseason.
For the Broncos to do what they haven’t done in nearly a century, they need to improve in several key areas. What would those be? Running the ball and early down efficiency. That was a primary message from Head Coach Sean Payton in his press conference yesterday afternoon.
“A lot of it is opponent driven, but it’s certainly important in these final four weeks. It’s staying on schedule. One of the things we talked about this week is our first and second-down efficiency. That’ll be important,” stated Payton.
While the Broncos have had success in recent weeks on zone concepts with Jaleel McLaughlin, veteran Javonte Williams has struggled immensely. He has had 1 yard or less rushing in three of the past four matchups. That has to change against the Colts and if it doesn’t, it might be best to give rookie Audric Estime reps down the stretch—even if he lacks experience.
On top of that, the Broncos need to be more disciplined. Over the past several weeks, drives have stalled or went backwards due to self-inflicted wounds and penalties. Fixing those issues will be paramount to make their playoff dreams come true and that starts this weekend against the Colts.
“I think staying on schedule, trying to avoid penalties—things that set you back that maybe becomes tough to overcome in a drive. It’s a combination of both the run and the pass and avoiding the minus plays. Avoiding the sack, avoiding the penalty. The things that can stall a drive or at least make it harder,” added Payton....
