How Can the Denver Broncos Defense Slow Down Packers QB Aaron Rodgers?

The Denver Broncos face a tough challenge in Week 8. On Sunday night, they will protect their home field against a fellow undefeated team in what is their biggest test of the season.

The Green Bay Packers come to the Mile High City to see if they can extend their unbeaten streak. Both teams are coming off a bye, and the action should be intense on both sides of the ball.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak was quite succinct when describing this contest.

“Two good football teams," Kubiak said. "Obviously, the quarterbacks speak for themselves and what they've done in their career. Two teams that are very solid, playing very well in a lot of areas. When you don't give up points, you're going to win in this league. That's what these two teams have done.”

Kubiak continued, “I'm very impressed with the job [Packers head coach] Mike [McCarthy] does and how consistent they've been. We know we've got our work cut out for us. We need to have a great week as we prepare.”

The Broncos defense is the best in the league in terms of snaring opposing quarterbacks. They lead the league in sacks with 26, but they may have a difficult time getting after Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers have had some offensive line issues this season, but Rodgers is only getting sacked on 5.1 percent of his dropbacks (the league average is 5.8 percent). Rodgers’ athleticism is problematic for teams looking to contain him. He can easily anticipate pressure, and Rodgers does a good job of sliding/climbing/running to escape the clutches of the defense.

How can the Broncos defense slow down Rodgers? Let’s take a look.

Make Him Get Rid of the Ball

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Rodgers is known for extending plays with his feet while keeping his eyes downfield. Playing with arguably the most composure in the league, Rodgers does not hurry his throws or panic under pressure. Instead, he moves quickly with the ball in his hands yet still passes with surgeon-like precision.

Kubiak is well-aware of Rodgers’ ability to extend plays.

“This guy has a way of, and I don't know if there's a stat for this, but this guy has a lot of long football plays. He hangs onto the ball, he moves and he finds a way," Kubiak explained. "We're really trying to emphasize that in practice and trying to put them through it as best we can.”

Actually, there are a couple of stats to examine here in this category. Rodgers has an average time before pass of 2.66 seconds. That’s fifth-slowest in the league, and the NFL average is 2.46 seconds. This shows that he’s holding onto the ball longer than others when scanning the field to make a pass. By example, Peyton Manning’s average time before pass is fourth-fastest in the NFL at 2.24 seconds.

However, Rodgers has an average time in the pocket of 2.23 seconds per dropback—a mark that ranks 10th-fastest in the NFL. This means that he’s abandoning the pocket, extending the play and using that extra time to allow his receivers to get open.

The secondary should be able to adequately cover the Packers' talented receivers, but if they have to extend that coverage when plays break down, then it will be more difficult to keep those receivers in check.

Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has warned the players in the secondary about this.

“We've told our defensive backs that you have to cover them twice," Phillips explained. "You have to cover on the first time that he drops back 2.5 seconds and when he starts scrambling, you have to keep covering the guy. That's really the key.”

Rotate Players in the Secondary

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The Broncos may choose to rotate players in their secondary in order to keep guys fresh in the defensive backfield. Part of that rotation could include moving cornerback Bradley Roby to free safety at times. When Roby moves, that opens up an opportunity for dime-package corner Kayvon Webster to do more.

Kubiak admitted that rotation was a possibility.

“We haven't been afraid to play all of our guys. I know that [CB] Aqib [Talib] came out last week a little bit and was nicked up. We practice that way. [CB] Kayvon [Webster] is healthy now. Kayvon had been nicked up for a while. We're not afraid to play all of those guys.” Kubiak concluded, “It'll take all of us if we're going to beat a football team like this. I have confidence in all of our players.”

Phillips appreciates what Roby has done filling in at safety.

“He's done really well when he's in there and that's why we have confidence in him. We can play him at corner or we can play him at safety some." Phillips continued, "It's been really versatile for us to give teams different looks and be able to play man-to-man with our safety when Roby is playing or let him play back in the zone.”

The Broncos should try many different looks to confuse Rodgers. Any sort of rotation could also help keep the energy level up for the back half of the defense.

Jumping Offsides, Mush Rush and Middle Pressure

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Rodgers has a bark that can draw defenders offsides a few times per game. Even on the road, Rodgers could use his voice to get some extra yards due to a penalty.

Phillips knows that’s a problem because of the deep targets that often come with free plays.

“He draws people offside, and when he does, he throws it deep and makes a big play. They've had six plays for over 200 yards drawing people offside. We're well-aware of it. Our guys know it.” Phillips continued, “I told our guys we're rushing the passer pretty well without jumping offside or without trying to jump the count. If we just do what we've been doing, we'll be all right.”

With an athletic quarterback like Rodgers, it’s important that the pass-rushers don’t get too far upfield. Linebackers Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware will be bringing plenty of heat from the outside. They’ll need to make sure that they “mush rush” so as to not create open rushing lanes underneath for Rodgers. A “mush rush” means the outside pass-rushers only go as deep as Rodgers drops back. Once they are even with him, then they’ll squeeze inside to clamp down on the talented passer.

The team needs to get pressure from the middle of the defense too. Rodgers can escape outside pressure, but almost every quarterback looks mortal when put under duress from the middle of the line.

Phillips likes what the team has in that spot.

“I think that's one thing that we have that some teams don't have," Phillips said. "We've got inside rushers that either push the pocket or like [DE] Malik [Jackson] has had quite a few sacks, too. Guys inside that keep the quarterback having to step back rather than step up makes a difference for those outside guys.”

Miller, Ware, Jackson and Shaquil Barrett will be four key defenders when it comes to containing Rodgers Sunday night.

Summary

This is going to be a difficult game for the Broncos to win. Both the Packers and the Broncos are going to put pressure on the passer, but the Packers are the team with the more mobile quarterback. That gives them an advantage.

The Broncos are going to be gauged based on their performance in this game—even with an undefeated record heading into this contest, many question the level of competition the Broncos have faced so far this season.

Kubiak believes this isn’t the only game they’ll be gauged from.

“I think that you're gauging yourself every day," he said. "The season is long. How good can you be 10 weeks from now? How good of a football team can you be? Are you getting better? I don't think that you get too tied up in this being the biggest game or the most important—they're all important.”

Kubiak concluded, “The most important thing is that we improve as a team and before this year is over that we're as good as we can possibly be as a football team. That's what we're working towards.”

The Broncos can’t stop Rodgers, but with the proper defensive plan and nearly flawless execution, they could at least slow him down.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.