Broncos Regular Season Week 6
Hawk Valley
Quick Review
There is now only one AFC team without a win this season, yes, it's the New York Jets. When the Jets and Broncos played, both teams had their best offensive output of the season.
The Denver Broncos beat the worst team in the NFL 37-28. The ticker tape parade was held on Thursday.
I'll highlight just a few things that were great about this game. First, the Broncos stretched the field. There were four plays of 40+ yards. They won despite turning the ball over multiple times and that's great. That's what you want, not the turnovers, but the ability and the will power to adjust. Finally, the defense stood up at the right time and in dramatic fashion to preserve the win. It was an exciting football game to watch.
A longer review
This game did not get off to a great great. The Jets started the game off with the ball. The Denver D tackled their running back for a loss, but on second down the Jets picked up nine yards through the air. A quarterback sneak gave the Jets a first down. There was an injury timeout at 13:28. After play resumed, the Jets gained six yards, but they fumbled the ball. Luckily for the Jets, the player was ruled down. On the next play, their quarterback ran for another first down. Where was the Broncos defense? With 11:25 left in the first quarter, the Jets quarterback ran 46 yards for a touchdown. The announcers pointed out that this was the first time Jets have led in a game. Denver got the ball back, but was called for a penalty on the kickoff. Gordon didn’t mind, he carried the ball to the 27 yard line. At around the 8:30 mark and on third down, the Denver offense relied on a pass interference call to get a first down. The Jets defense was then called for roughing the passer penalty, giving the Broncos another first down. After a few successful pass plays, the Broncos tried a screen pass to Freeman on third down that lost yards. At 4:45, Denver kicked a field goal. The score was now 7-3 Jets.
The Jets were 3-3 on third down conversions at this point. New York drove down the field until about the two minute mark when a sack by the Denver defense moved the ball back behind the fifty yard line. The Jets rushed for 13 yards on the next play, but it was called back for holding. With 1:12 left in the first, the Jets starting quarterback left the game with an injured shoulder. Joe Flacco of all people came into the game, to play for the Jets. Joe quickly marched the Jets backwards. The first quarter ended with the Jets in possession of the ball and thirty yards to go on third down.
In the second quarter, the Broncos got the ball back after two more Jets penalties. On third and 3 for the Broncos, the Jets were called for defensive holding and roughing the passer. The Jets penalties had added 63 yards to the Broncos offense so far. Rypien went deep to Jeudy for a 48 yard touchdown pass at the 13 minute mark. Joe Flacco was replaced by the “injured” quarterback at the 12 minute mark. He was sacked immediately.
The Broncos have the ball now and with about eleven minutes left, Rypien tried to throw the ball away, but a Jets defender caught the ball as he was moving out of bounds. The pass was ruled incomplete, but the Jets challenged the call. The call was reversed and the Jets offense took over. With 7:48 left in the half, it’s fourth down and 8 yards to go. They tried a field goal, but missed wide left. The Denver defense was flagged on the play for something, first down Jets. They ended up kicking a field goal with 6:24 left in the half. The score was now tied at 10. The Broncos next drive didn’t inspire confidence as Rypien threw it away on first down. On second down, the Broncos ran for three yards. On third down with 5:35 left, Rypien hit Patrick for 40 yards. The Broncos then moved down the field, but Fangio pulled Rypien and put Driskel into the game at the 2:13 mark. He scrambled, the Jets hit him in the head, first down Broncos. Now Rypien is back in and he handed the ball off to Gordon. He scored, 17-10 Denver. The Jets offense marched the ball down the field and kicked a field goal with 19 seconds left to end the half. The announcers then commented that the Broncos are 27-40 since Peyton left.
The Broncos got the ball to start the third quarter, but their drive stalled and they ended up punting at the 13:34 mark. The first play by the Jets offense was a two yard run. On second down, the Jets gained 38 yards thanks to a pass interference call on the Broncos. The defense calmed down and held New York to a field goal on that drive. With the ball back in their hands, the Broncos ran clock until there was about 4:31 left in the quarter. Rypien then tossed the ball to Patrick for another touchdown. The score was now 24-16. The Jets offense then drove down the field but a Bronco sack forced them to punt with 1:42 left. Spencer returned the ball for 42 yards and the punt netted one yard. Nothing happened for the rest of the quarter.
49 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Broncos kicked another field goal, making it 27-16 Denver. The Jets offense responded quickly and went deep on first down for a 36 yard gain. On third and 4, the Jet’s quarterback fell backwards for a 13 yard loss. They ended up getting a field goal on that drive. The score was now 27-19 Denver. Back on offense, Rypien almost threw a pick on first down with 11:44 left. A run on second down went nowhere. Then, with 10:50 left, Rypien threw a pick six. The Jets attempted a two point conversion, but they failed. The score was now 27-25 Denver. On second and 8 with 10:45 left, Gordon ran for a first down, but he made an odd jump and may have injured himself. Freeman came into the game. At the 8:37 mark, Rypien threw another interception. The Jets offense dinked and dunked the clock away which lead to a field goal and now they lead 28-27, with 6:28 left in the game. At the 5 minute mark, the Jets sacked Rypien, but they were flagged for a face mask which gave Denver a first down. On third down, Rypien tossed the ball to Patrick for a 31 yard gain. Gordon, back in the game, lost yards on his first down carry. On second down, Rypien targeted Gordon again but he dropped the pass. On third and 13 with 3:13 left, Rypien threw the ball away, but... he was flagged for intentional grounding. The Bronco tried a 53 yard field goal and made it. The Broncos were back out in front, 30-28. The Jets offense took the ball and drove down the field. At about the two minute mark, Bradley Chubb sacked their quarterback on fourth and 3. After the two minute warning, Gordon ran for 43 yards and a Bronco touchdown, aided on the play with a block from Rypien. The next Jets drive went nowhere but they did run the clock down to about the one minute mark. The Broncos attempted to run the clock out by throwing incomplete passes. On the final play of the game, a fourth and 13 play, the Broncos went for it with three seconds left. The Jets were flagged for a personal foul on that play which made Fangio very upset. Final score, 37-28 Denver.
The Game Stats
Denver
Time of Possession
31:39
Passing Attempts
31
Passing Yards
242
Rushes
32
Rushing Yards
117
Jets
Time of Possession
28:21
Passing Attempts
44
Passing Yards
246
Rushes
24
Yards
129
Player Stats
The Running Game
* AYPC is average yards per carry
PlayerCarriesAYPCLongTD(s) Fumble(s) Gordon2354320 Rypien5-1-100 Freeman32300 Driskel19900
The Passing Attack
* He was targeted once
PlayerReceptions%LongTD(s)Fumble(s) Patrick686%4010 Fant583%1100 Freeman2100%800 Gordon267%1000 Jeudy250%4810 Vannett150%700 Hamilton133%900 Butt*00%000
The Quarterbacks
Rypien
Passing
compypaTD(s)INT(s)LongRating 61%8234868
Rushing
AttYardsLongTD(s) 5-5-10
Sacked
TimesYards LostFumble(s) 000
Driskel
Passing
compypaTD(s)INT(s)LongRating 000000
Rushing
AttYardsLongTD(s) 1990
Sacked
TimesYards LostFumble(s) 000
Darnold
Passing
compypaTD(s)INT(s)LongRating 55%6003571
Rushing
AttYardsLongTD(s) 684461
Sacked
Time(s)Yard(s) LostFumble(s) 6540
/* the other backup qb */
Flacco
Passing
compypaTD(s)INT(s)LongRating 100%80011100
Rushing
AttYardsLongTD(s) 0000
Sacked
Time(s)Yard(s) LostFumble(s) 000
During the week
Covid wrecked havic on the Broncos season. During the first week after the Jets game, no Bronco tested positive for covid, but a few Patriot players did test positive. This nuked the 2020 nfl schedule. There was some talk that New England should forfeit the game. At the end of the day, the game was bumped, postponed and then delayed. All of this happened while the nfl is attempting to reopen their stadiums to full capacity. New Orleans for example, wants to move their home field to place with no health and safety checks. If they get thier way, they'll be playing out the season at LSU. As of Saturday, October 17th, the Bronco running backs coach has tested positive for covid. The Broncos have asked everyone he has had contact with to self quarentine.
Also during the first week after the Jets game, Von Milller hung up on a member of the local media when he was asked about taking a pay cut. He called the station back but didn't really say anything. The local media then turned those audio clips into an audio meme.
Gordon was charged with a dui this week. The speculation is that he might miss three games. Before any suspensions could be handed down, he came down wih an "illness" and was asked to leave practice. He was not on the flight to New England.
The Broncos now have a "quarterback controvery" again. Thanks to all of the delays, Lock will play against the Patriots. There is an insane push by the media to get Lock in the game. Lock is said to be the most athletic of their young quarterbacks. Rypien is said to have a better understanding of the game. Lock seems to be a Jake Plumber type of quarterback. Rypien, more of an Elway, Manning type. Oddly enough, some people want Lock to play so that the Broncos end up back in the draft and get an opportunity to pick draft another quarterback.
Just one more note about rescheduling, the Bills played on Tuesday. Their next game was scheduled for Thursday. They are now playing on Monday. This covid season is nuts.
Today’s teams ranked by stats
Broncos (1-3)
28th
29th
27th
29th
6
3
6
86%
0
13
0
0
0
0
-6
Won 1
Patriots (2-2)
22nd
8th
24th
2nd
3
7
5
71%
0
7
0
0
1
1
+1
Lost 1
Outlook
Thanks to Covid, the Broncos have remained undefeated for half of October...
This is conference game. The Patriots have won 50% of their games in the conference, the Broncos WP in conference is 33%. The Patriots are undefeated at home. The Broncos have won half of their road games this season, the game they lost was in the morning. The Patriots offense averages 29 points per game at home. The Broncos are averaging 29 points per game on the road. The Patriots defense gives up 16 points per game at home. The Broncos defense gives up 27 points per game on the road.
Game Time
The New England game originally scheduled for October 11th and then postponed to October 12 @ 3:05 PM , has been postponed again to October 18 at 11 AM MT. The Miami game scheduled for this week has been postponed to November 22nd @ 2:05 PM MT.
