Mile High Report
Bo Nix had a great quote Sunday night that stats don’t play the game.
“The funny thing about stats is tomorrow, you’re gonna wake up, and there’s gonna be a new stat. There’s gonna be something else that somebody else figured out. …They’re just that. They’re just a stat,” Nix said. “They have nothing to do with the football game. They can’t grow legs and go out there and score touchdowns for you.”
He’s 100% right on both accounts — the stats don’t win the game AND also somebody is going to have figured out a whole bunch of new stats after the fact about the guys who actually did win the game.
But he would be wrong if he thinks the stats don’t matter (just ask his coach who loves his analytics and stats!) Because while stats don’t play the game, they do tell us a lot about the story of the game.
And there have been some interesting ones since the Broncos’ OT thriller on Sunday:
First, a few critical ones that point to issues to fix — many of which are obvious, like needing much better production from the rushing attack.
Sean Payton noted after the game that Washington, which had been one of the easier teams to run against, made it hard for Denver.
“Yeah, I mean, it was one of those frustrating nights running the ball,” Payton said. “They did a few things differently by staying in their heavy personnel. Teams have been able to run the ball in sub against them. And to Dan’s credit, they didn’t allow that.”
There’s no doubt that this has to improve if the Broncos want to win the tough games coming up — namely the Chiefs, Jags and Packers — but particularly if they want to do anything in the playoffs.
Despite letting the Commanders’ run game get the best of them much of the night on Sunday, the Broncos defense is still holding strong in most every way possible.
Especially in the pass rush but also including pass coverage. When you’re opposite Pat Surtain as a defensive back, you know you’re the one being targeted. And Sunday night’s game saw some great stuff from Moss and Singleton, who have certainly gotten burned.
From the O-line to the quarterback to receivers, there is much about this offense to praise even while criticizing clear areas of improvement, including Nix’s footwork still, as Tim Jenkins points out in this week’s video breakdown:
But Nix is generally being protected well, and he’s making big plays when he needs to, so until that’s not happening, there’s no reason to panic or complain.
And let’s not overlook the incredible play by Courtland Sutton to be in position to get that incredible falling TD pass from Nix. The QB certainly pointed it...
