New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos: Full Denver Game Preview
In what should be considered the marquee matchup of Week 12, the Denver Broncos will host the undefeated New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football.
The Patriots have gotten off to a 10-0 start, the team's best since it went to the Super Bowl in 2007. This game should serve as a good indicator of just how good the Broncos are this year. In fact, they won't play a bigger game in the regular season.
A loss would all but take Denver out of the running for home-field advantage in the playoffs. However, a win would restore the belief that this team can contend for a trip to the Super Bowl.
If the Broncos are to do that, it will have to be with Brock Osweiler at quarterback. Though the 25-year-old won his first career start last week against the Chicago Bears, the Patriots are a completely different animal.
Denver leads the all-time series between the teams 28-21. However, New England has won five of the last six meetings. This will be the first regular-season meeting between the two teams in Denver since December 2011.
Read on for a full preview of this showdown, complete with the latest injury news and matchups to look out for.
Week 11 Recap
1 of 6
The Broncos were able to snap a two-game losing streak in Week 11, going on the road to defeat the Chicago Bears 17-15.
Osweiler was very efficient in his first start, completing 20 of 27 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos also racked up 170 yards on the ground. Denver forced two turnovers and didn't turn the ball over once.
However, the Bears were able to keep things close, largely because of the fact that they weren't penalized a single time in the game. Denver drew eight flags for 118 yards.
Jeremy Langford scored on a two-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left in the game, but the Bears needed a two-point conversion to tie the score up and potentially send the game into overtime. The Denver defense was all over that play, easily stopping it to preserve the win.
In the process, the Broncos were able to beat their former head coach John Fox and their former quarterback Jay Cutler.
News and Notes
2 of 6
Brock Osweiler Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week
Osweiler didn't put up an unbelievable stat line, but the NFL rewarded him for his play in his first career start. As reported by Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, Osweiler was chosen as AFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday.
In other words, his first start couldn't have gone much better. This has to be highly encouraging for Osweiler, who will now have to face a team led by one of the most successful head coaches in NFL history.
Broncos Add Quarterback Christian Ponder
On Wednesday, the Broncos added another quarterback to their roster. Christian Ponder, a former first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, was brought in to add depth to the position, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
Ponder had his struggles in Minnesota, but his signing shows that there is growing concern over the status of Peyton Manning and his foot injury.
Ponder has a career quarterback rating of 75.9, throwing 38 touchdowns with 36 interceptions. At the least for the time being, he will be the team's No. 3 quarterback behind Osweiler and Trevor Siemian. In all likelihood, the 27-year-old will be inactive on game days and will never play a meaningful snap for the team.
However, his experience may be beneficial for the two young quarterbacks who seem to be part of Denver's long-term future.
In other news, it appears that Ponder wasn't the team's first choice. Mike Klis of 9News.com reports that the Broncos put in a waiver claim for Jimmy Clausen, who was released by the Bears earlier this week. Clausen was awarded to the Baltimore Ravens, who had priority due to their much worse win-loss record.
Peyton Manning Plans to Play in 2016
Regardless of how things play out this season, Manning intends to play again next season, even if that's for another team. At least, that's what Manning has indicated, according to Pro Football Talk.
Manning will be 40 years old in March, but it's premature to even have this discussion. Whether Manning ever takes another snap in Denver remains to be seen, but it seems unlikely that things will end on a happy note for him in Denver.
Latest Injury News
3 of 6
DeMarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware continues to miss practice, but as Andrew Mason of the team's official website reports, he did work with strength and conditioning coach Luke Richesson on Wednesday.
Ware's absence has been felt on the field, as the pass rush hasn't been as fierce without him.
Evan Mathis
Evan Mathis went down with an ankle injury in the win over the Bears, and he missed practice on Wednesday as well, according to Mason.
Mathis is still settling into his role with the Broncos, and that hasn't come without some struggles. He has been a great run blocker, but Pro Football Focus ranks him No. 45 out of 83 guards in terms of pass protection.
If Mathis is unable to play against New England, look for rookie Max Garcia to start in his place.
Emmanuel Sanders
Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders returned to the practice field on Wednesday, as reported by Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post. That is an encouraging sign for the team after Sanders missed last week's game against Chicago due to a nagging ankle injury.
Sanders was a full participant in practice. That is good news for the Broncos, who will need all the help they can get on offense if they are going to deal the Patriots their first loss of the season.
Peyton Manning
Manning is expected to be in a walking cast and miss at least two more games, according to Mason.
Though it's tough to see Manning forced to the sideline, the Broncos can look at what could be a silver lining in the fact that the team will get an extended look at Osweiler as the starting quarterback. An unrestricted free-agent this offseason, the Broncos will need to make a decision on Osweiler's future soon.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Key Matchups
4 of 6
Chris Harris vs. Danny Amendola
With Julian Edelman out with an injury, the Patriots are thin at wide receiver. In fact, Danny Amendola suffered a sprained knee in Monday night's game against Buffalo, according to NFL.com. If he is unable to play in this game, the Denver secondary will have a decided advantage.
Tom Brady loves to get the ball to his slot receivers, but the Broncos have perhaps the best cornerback in the league against slot receivers in Chris Harris. If Amendola is unable to play, the Patriots would likely line up Keshawn Martin at this position.
How much confidence will Brady have in guys like Martin and Chris Harper? That will be a big key in this game.
Denver Pass Defense vs. Rob Gronkowski
Few teams have figured out how to slow down New England tight end Rob Gronkowski, but it will be imperative for the Broncos to limit what he does in this game. Without Edelman and possibly Amendola, it would not be surprising to see Brady target his big tight end 15 times or more in this game.
The teams that have fared the best against him this season are the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills. In fact, the Bills allowed Gronkowski to catch just two passes for 37 yards on Monday night.
The Broncos should study the film of those two games closely. Both Indianapolis and Buffalo employed a zone defense where they dropped linebackers into coverage. Gronkowski was often covered by as many as three players on some plays.
In New England's last meeting with Denver, Gronkowski caught nine passes for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Denver Pass Rush vs. New England Offensive Line
If the Patriots have a weakness, it is the offensive line. At times, it is a glaring weakness.
Against the Bills on Monday night, the unit seemed to really struggle in protecting Brady. If there's one goal Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips should have in this game it is to get hits on Brady, even if they're not sacks.
According to Football Outsiders, the Patriots are allowing a sack on 6.9 percent of their passing attempts.
Looking at pass-blocking statistics for the starters on New England's offensive line compiled by Pro Football Focus, each player has had their struggles.
At tackle, Sebastian Vollmer and Marcus Cannon come in at No. 46 and No. 52, respectively. Seventy-six tackles were graded.
At guard, Josh Kline has played well, coming in at No. 14. However, Shaquille Mason is ranked No. 78 out of 83 guards reviewed. Looking at the center position, David Andrews ranks No. 20 out of 37 players listed.
The Broncos should have success getting to Brady in this game. Expect Phillips to have some exotic blitz packages ready for an offensive line that will have its hands full protecting the quarterback.
X-Factor Player
5 of 6
X-Factor Player of the Week: Cody Latimer
Can fans finally start to get behind Cody Latimer? The former second-round pick has gotten off to a slow start in his career, but as long as Osweiler plays quarterback, he should be involved on offense.
Osweiler and Latimer have clearly created a connection while both have waited their opportunity to get on the field. That—and the fact that Sanders was held out due to injury last week—have helped Latimer slowly find a role on offense.
The 23-year-old caught the first touchdown pass of his young career against Chicago, and the Broncos need to find a way for him to build on that. The team needs to give Osweiler multiple options in the passing game, so the time is now for Latimer to step up.
Look for his success to continue this week against New England.
Prediction
6 of 6
It is very hard to pick against an undefeated team, particularly one with as much talent as New England has. However, the Broncos have several key factors that play in their favor.
First, the Patriots have been hit with some tough injuries on offense, particularly to Edelman and running back Dion Lewis. If Amendola misses this game, Brady will really be strapped for places to go with the football.
The Broncos are also playing at home. Historically, the team has had success against New England at home and hold a 19-9 edge in the series in games played in Denver. Brady is 2-5 against the Broncos on the road.
With all of that said, Bill Belichick and his defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will have something in store for the inexperienced Osweiler, something he likely hasn't seen to this point in his career. How he handles that will be the key to this game.
If Osweiler plays like he did last week—efficiently and without mistakes—Denver wins this game. The defense is too talented to get beat by a New England team that is missing too many weapons on offense.
Osweiler has been poised and his years serving as the team's backup, learning from Manning, have prepared him well. Denver will stop the undefeated run of New England at 10 games.
Final Prediction: Broncos 20, Patriots 17
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
