We spoke with Sayre Bedinger, Broncos expert for Predominantly Orange, to hear more about Joe Flacco, Vic Fangio and the Broncos recent win streak.
The Kansas City Chiefs have lost two games in a row and now play on a short week with absolutely no momentum. The Denver Broncos are the total opposite, a home team ready to take on a hurting division rival for the chance to win three consecutive games after a miserable month to start the season.
For a team that’s only 2-4, the Broncos have a newfound confidence, especially with a strong defense finally turning the corner under defensive mastermind Vic Fangio. The team still has issues, yes, but they’ve played tough even in losses and they’re ready to make a major statement in primetime that they’re not down for the count just yet.
We recently asked Sayre Bedinger of Predominantly Orange to tell us more about the Broncos winning ways.
Two wins in a row for a Broncos team that looked like they were destined to pick atop the draft. Did Vic Fangio just need some time?
I think Fangio’s defense, in particular, has taken some time for the players to adjust to. All of the players have maintained since the offseason and into the regular season that it’s a great defense, but communication is key and everyone has to be on the same page. Even with some injuries, it looks like things are finally clicking on that side of the ball and we’ve seen turnovers coming, sacks coming, and the run defense really coming around of late.
The offensive line has been problematic for some time? How is Dalton Risner fitting in and what’s the state of the line these days?
Dalton Risner has been outstanding at left guard. Vic Fangio went so far as to say he’s a ‘cornerstone’ piece for the franchise. It seems like he makes at least one impact block every single week and his experience in college has translated exceptionally well to the NFL. It’s hard to believe he was the 10th offensive lineman off the board in the draft.
For the rest of the offensive line, it feels like nothing has been consistent. Through the first four games, Garett Bolles was really struggling at left tackle. He’s picked things up lately and has been solid, but there are other issues. Right guard Ron Leary has struggled with penalties. Center Connor McGovern has had three notably bad snaps in the last two games. The right tackle spot is currently manned by Elijah Wilkinson, who is probably best suited as a guard and has been giving up a few too many pressures for my liking. If Ja’Wuan James is able to get back this week, he should give them a nice boost.
What’s the feeling about Joe Flacco as starting quarterback through six weeks?
He’s pretty much what everyone would have expected. He’s an upgrade over Case Keenum, but Flacco doesn’t feel like a talent elevator. He disappears for stretches. He makes some really nice throws. He has little to no escapability.
The results from Flacco have been uninspiring statistically, but he has had the Broncos’ offense in a position now to win four games. The defense, unfortunately, couldn’t hold against the Jaguars and Bears, but Flacco has proven he can make plays in crunch time. As far as being in his ‘prime’ like John Elway previously talked about? I’m not so sure about that.
How concerning is the Thursday night nature of this game for the Broncos?
I think it’s somewhat of a non-issue. Vic Fangio went up against Matt Nagy’s version of the offense in practice every day last season. He obviously wasn’t preparing to defend it, but both he and the Broncos should have a pretty good idea at this point of what the Chiefs bring to the table. Chris Harris said he personally has no issues with the game being on Thursday from a preparation standpoint because of the number of times he’s played against the Chiefs and this offense in his career. The Broncos also made it out of that Titans game healthy, so there’s nothing from an injury perspective that’s overly concerning.
Even without BC, the Broncos pass rush was tremendous on Sunday. How much of that is on the Titans?
From the looks of it, the Titans have struggled to protect their quarterbacks this year, but it was a testament to Denver’s coverage. Vic Fangio talked about forcing the quarterback to go to his second and third reads on progressions, and we saw a lot of that in this game. A number of those sacks were coverage sacks for the Broncos, whose secondary has really stepped up in the past couple of weeks.
Any final prediction?
I have a good feeling about this game as far as the Broncos are concerned. The Chiefs’ defense is going to be a breath of fresh air for the Denver offense after going up against some of the best defenses in the NFL to open the season (Bears, 3rd in scoring defense; Titans, 5th; Packers, 8th; Chargers, 10th; Jaguars, 12th). The Chiefs have the 19th ranked scoring defense in the NFL at 24 points per game and are giving up more first downs defensively per game than any team in the NFL. The Chiefs’ run defense is porous and that is the strength of Denver’s offense. The Broncos also feel “due” for a win against the Chiefs having lost every game to them since that early Thursday night game in 2015.