Mile High Report
The Denver Broncos took care of business and defeated the Carolina Panthers 28-7 at home. Here are some instant reactions from today’s game.
Head Coach Sean Payton said that progress for the Denver Broncos would be securing their fifth win of the season. That’s precisely what they did today. The Broncos devoured the Carolina Panthers 28-14.
With today’s big victory, they are now 5-3 on the season. It puts them firmly in the playoff hunt in a competitive AFC and will give them much needed momentum heading on the road to square off against the Balitmore Ravens next weekend.
Without further ado, here are some instant reactions from today’s comeback victory.
Bo Nix ignites in impressive four touchdown performance
Going into the game, we all knew the Panthers defensive unit was dealing with a lot of injuries. On top of that, they had played badly for most of the season. With that in mind, it presented Bo Nix and the Broncos’ opportunity to continue to show growth and development. That’s what we are all hoping for.
In that regard they certainly didn’t disappoint. They took advantage of the aforementioned issues and executed at an extremely high level. I had thought Head Coach Sean Payton would have heavily relied upon the running game like we saw against the New Orleans Saints. Instead, the opposite happened. It was Broncos’ aerial attack that was in demand—especially in the first half.
I thought Bo Nix looked the best he has all season. He was poised, accurate, and was working all levels of the field with ease. His footwork and pocket presence were also quite impressive. He also did a great job of getting the ball to a myriad of players. In the first half, Nix was 21-of-27 for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown late in the second quarter to put the Broncos up 21-7.
In the second half, the offense continued off on the right foot. Nix threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Jaleel McLaughlin halfway through the second quarter. After going up three scores, the Broncos went more conservative on offense and milked the clock through the run game.
Some may use the quality of the Panthers to downgrade the performance offensively. First off, it’s not like the Broncos chose their opponent or their injury situation. At the end of the day, they had to execute and that’s precisely what they did—at a very high level. For the game, they had over 400 total yards on offense.
This was the best they had looked on third downs all year. The tight ends were an important part of the game plan. If my biggest gripe about today’s game were a few drops and miscues from wide receivers that left meat on the bone, I’d consider their overall efforts offensively to be a success. I do want to see those fumbles get cleaned up though.
Performances like this help give confidence and momentum for a young...
