The Denver Broncos completed a stunning comeback to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium Thursday night. And most fans will be of the notion that a win is a win, no matter the score or how a team gets the victory. Sure, all wins in the NFL count the same, regardless of the final score of a game. But their win Thursday night, and their 2-0 start to the season, mask the Denver Broncos’ issues that they will need to correct going forward if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs.
When I made my preseason picks I picked the Broncos to win the AFC West again because they have the best quarterback in the division in Peyton Manning. I figured Manning’s subpar play down the stretch last season was due mainly to the hip injury he dealt with the latter part of the 2014 season. I thought The Sherriff would play better in 2015 than he did towards the end of last season, and that would be the difference. But right now the former Tennessee Volunteer and the Broncos’ offense are not exactly high flying.
Right now it’s the defense that really has Denver at 2-0 and atop the AFC West. The defense has six sacks, four interceptions and three recovered fumbles through two games so far this season. It’s all well and good that the defense has played really well. A good, sound defense can help teams win tough games on the road and games late in the season. But if the Broncos want to repeat as division champions, and make a serious run at playing in Super Bowl 50, both Manning and the offense have to start playing better.
The five-time MVP was accurate when throwing short passes to the middle of the field (16-of-23 and all three of his touchdowns), but he completed only 10-of-22 when throwing outside the numbers. One of those missed completions outside the numbers was a pick-six by Marcus Peters. It was the second time in as many weeks that Manning had a ball he threw outside the numbers intercepted and returned for a touchdown. It appears that Manning simply doesn’t have the arm strength he used to. He is still deadly accurate on short passes in the middle of the field, but good defensive coaches and coordinators will game plan to largely take that way from the Broncos. Those coaches and coordinators will force Manning and Denver to try to beat them deep and on the outside, and they aren’t equipped to do that with any consistency.
Manning was better out of the shotgun, but he struggled when playing under center, and the offensive line, which has been really shaky the first two weeks of the season, will need to start playing better. The running backs will also have to drastically improve. One of the best ways for the Broncos to protect their future Hall of Fame quarterback (aside from the young offensive line simply player better) is to have a quality run game that opposing defenses have to respect. Head coach Gary Kubiak wants to do just that.
I know the Broncos have played only two games this season so it is way too early to hit the panic button. But if the offensive line doesn’t step up, and the ground game that Kubiak wants to instill fails to make an impact, the Broncos will fall short of their goal this season. Denver’s defense has performed really well through two games, and Manning is intelligent and accurate enough on the short passes to the middle of the field to probably carry the Broncos into the playoffs. But Manning, the Broncos, and their fans don’t just want a trip to the playoffs. They want another trip to the Super Bowl, this time capped off with a win.
