Denver Broncos' 5 Keys to Victory in Matchup vs. New England Patriots

The Denver Broncos have a big test in Week 12. On Sunday they will take on the undefeated New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Patriots come in on a short week after defeating the Buffalo Bills Monday night in Week 11. The Broncos return home after beating the Chicago Bears on the road last week.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak knows that facing the Patriots represents a huge challenge for his team.

“Obviously, [they are] a great football team," he said. "The quarterback is playing as well as we've ever seen him play. They've had some guys out offensively and they continue to move the ball and play well. Defensively, in the past few years that I've played against them—they're all healthy this year.”

Kubiak continued, “They've got a lot of top picks, but they've got them all in place this year. They had been nicked up in the past couple of years. [They are] as good a defensive football team as we've played this year.”

How will the Broncos be able to compete with and perhaps defeat the Patriots? They will be tested on both sides of the ball and will need to play a near-perfect game in order to come out on top of such a well-coached opponent.

Here are five keys to victory in the matchup against the Patriots.

Osweiler Takes Some Deep Shots

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We never really saw Brock Osweiler take any deep shots against the Chicago Bears in Week 11. His air-yards-per-attempt average was among the lowest in the NFL (6.44 yards) last week as he generally stayed safe with the football.

Safe won’t cut it against the Patriots.

Kubiak revealed that Osweiler would have different responsibilities this week: “We put a lot on his plate last week. It won't be any different this week as far as the load and what we do, but it will be a little bit different for him because of what these guys do. That's where the pressure amps up a little.”

Kubiak continued, “These guys, defensively, do a great deal. You may practice against one thing all week and you may play against another. This will be a new test for him from that standpoint.”

Osweiler has a rocket arm and can stretch the field vertically because of it. The Broncos won’t fire deep passes all night, but a few deep shots to Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas would help back up the defense.

The Patriots are likely to crowd the line of scrimmage in order to cluster up the easy routes for Osweiler. If there’s one-on-one coverage on the outside, Osweiler will have to prove he can make those throws in order to change the way the Patriots defense plays him. Instead of being a pure sight thrower, Osweiler needs to throw with better anticipation and give his playmakers a chance to come up with the ball.

Soften Up the Middle of the Defense

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The Broncos need to do everything they can to run the ball effectively against the Patriots. That’s going to be a tough task as the New England defense is second-best in the league with only 888 rushing yards allowed this season.

The Patriots have allowed 537 rush yards before contact and 371 yards after contact this year. The Patriots are tough to run on, but the Broncos need to ride the momentum on the ground they created last week against the Bears.

Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison was impressed with the team’s rushing attack last week and wants more of the same going forward.

“I think our technique was good," Dennison said. "We got on, we finished and we ran well. You can say that on any of the games that we've played. I think that we just became more consistent. We stayed in the game and we weren't behind.

"There were a lot of good things that happen that way. You can certainly run the ball better when those things happen.”

The Patriots are second in the league (behind the Broncos) with 32 sacks in 2015. The Broncos need to protect Osweiler, and they can do that by rushing the ball effectively. They can also use the Patriots' aggression against them like “football kung fu” by softening the defense up the middle while defenders rush around the edge.

If the Broncos can run the ball consistently against the Patriots, it will also help keep Tom Brady cold on the sidelines. It’s not going to be easy, but the effort is well worth it given the potential payoff.

Create Mismatches with the Tight End

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Vernon Davis could be one of the most valuable targets in the game Sunday. He’s big, fast and physical on the field and creates mismatches every time he’s in the game. Davis is too big for a safety to cover and too fast for most linebackers. Attacking the deep middle seam with Davis could result in big plays for the Broncos offense.

Last week against the Bears, it was evident early that Davis was a favorite target of Osweiler. He targeted Davis six times, and the tight end hauled in every pass that came his way. He finished the game with six catches for 68 yards against the Bears.

Osweiler is feeling confident since he’s coming off the victory over the Bears: “It helps a lot. Obviously, I think the majority of the players in the National Football League are very confident in their abilities to perform at this level. If you're not, you're going to have a tough time playing out there.”

Osweiler admitted, “Anytime you can go out there and cement that with a win on the road and things like that, obviously that helps with your confidence.”

A good way to help the young quarterback produce against a ferocious pass rush is to use the tight end to gash an opponent that sends extra rushers often. Creating mismatches with Davis is a good plan for the Broncos to put in place Sunday night.

Keep Attacking Tom Brady

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The Broncos lead the league with 34 sacks in 2015, and they’ll need to continuously get pressure on Tom Brady if they want to give themselves the best chance to win Sunday.

Brady has only been blitzed on an average of 24.6 percent of his dropbacks. That’s much lower than the league average of 30.9 percent. However, he is feeling pressure and is under duress on 24.1 percent of his dropbacks in 2015. This means when he’s blitzed, the pressure almost always gets to Brady.

Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has a healthy respect for Brady: “The guy, like I said, is one of the all-time best ever. He's playing that way and he's playing like he was in 2007 when they won every [regular season] game. It's a real challenge, but you like to go against great football players. You like to see the challenge. You like to see how your team comes out and accepts the challenge.”

Most opponents try to get pressure with only four rushers, but the Broncos should take a different approach. They should strive for middle pressure. His average time in the pocket (2.04 seconds) is second-best in the league (behind Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton's 2.01 seconds). His average of 2.18 seconds before the pass is the best in the NFL. Pressure from the edge usually won’t get to Brady, but pressure up the gut could alter what he does with the ball.

The Patriots are undefeated, and Brady has been dealing on the field this year. Dropping seven in coverage hasn’t worked against him. Perhaps rushing more than four as much as possible could yield positive results for the Broncos.

Somehow Slow Down Rob Gronkowski

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It’s not an easy task, but the Broncos must find a way to somehow slow down Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Buffalo Bills were able to hold Gronkowski in check like we usually don’t see last Monday night. He had a season-low two catches for 37 yards against the Bills, and the Broncos would love a similar result.

Phillips looked at what the Bills did to slow down Gronkowski in Week 11.

“[Buffalo doubled him] some," he said. "They didn't all the time. He's a great player and you have to be aware of him. Anytime they have a—they do the same thing defensively against teams they play. If you try to take away what they do best or take away their best player, that's what you have to try to do.”

Phillips continued, “It means doubling him a lot, certainly, but it also means putting enough pressure on the quarterback where the guy doesn't have time to throw to the guy even when he gets open sometimes. You can't double-cover him every play, but there are certain things that we will. You have to.”

Single-covering Gronkowski for most of the game is too dangerous. The Broncos are likely to bracket-cover the talented tight end with two defenders. We could see an athletic linebacker such as Danny Trevathan guard him underneath with someone such as free safety Darian Stewart making sure Gronkowski doesn’t haul in any deep targets.

Brady is going to be dealing with largely unknown targets outside of Gronkowski. Veteran Brandon LaFell might be his healthiest (and most experienced receiver). Julian Edelman is out with a foot injury, and his replacement Danny Amendola is also dealing with a knee injury that may prevent him from appearing in the game. On Thanksgiving, the Patriots put Aaron Dobson on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury suffered against the Bills.

Gronkowski will have to be a big part of the passing game if the Patriots want to have plenty of success through the air. In response, the Broncos want to make sure he’s held in check as much as possible.

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.