Injuries, Defensive Pressure Caused Broncos to Falter on Offense

It wasn’t a good day for the Denver Broncos on Sunday. In their third straight game on the road, the Broncos lost to the St. Louis Rams by a score of 22-7.

History should have been our guide before Sunday.

The Broncos have never won on the road in St. Louis (0-2-1). Denver has gone 0-2 in St. Louis against the Rams and tied the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.

Denver’s last win on the road against the Rams franchise was in 1982, when the team was based in Los Angeles. The Broncos have lost four straight road games against the Rams.

They certainly didn’t play their best game on offense, and the unit seemed to be out of sync for most of the game. It didn’t help they lost players to injury and allowed the Rams to put Peyton Manning under pressure for most of the contest.

Let’s look at a couple of the reasons why the Broncos lost in Week 11.

Injuries

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

The Broncos lost a couple of key offensive players to injury against the Rams. First, tight end Julius Thomas was lost for the game with an ankle injury. Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders had five catches for 105 yards and a receiving touchdown before a big hit that forced him to be taken to the locker room in order to be diagnosed for a concussion.

Even running back Montee Ball, back after a five-game absence due to a groin injury, had to leave the game after re-aggravating the injury.

The loss of Thomas might have been the biggest one of the three. The fourth-year tight end is one of the best in the game at his position, and he creates mismatches almost every time he’s on the field. The Broncos typically move Thomas around the formation to get the best possible mismatch, and his versatility was certainly missed.

Without Thomas, the Broncos (also without Virgil Green) turned to Jacob Tamme. The veteran tight end finished the game with only four catches for 31 yards. Manning targeted Tamme 10 times against the Rams, but the connection was just off.

Losing Sanders really hurt the offense as well. His deep speed helps take the top off the defense, and that helps open things up underneath for the other Broncos receivers. Sanders can also be used effectively on shorter routes because of his quickness and run-after-the-catch ability.

Without Sanders, it led to a larger opportunity for Andre “Bubba” Caldwell. Manning targeted Caldwell four times, and he caught three of those passes for 31 yards. Caldwell’s lone drop came on a play where he received a punishing shot to the midsection after leaping into the air for the pass. It’s not like Caldwell was bad, per se, but he certainly didn’t provide the same spark that Sanders does.

Ball was supposed to be eased back into the lineup in his return from his groin injury. Running back C.J. Anderson received the first start of his pro career, and he responded with over 100 all-purpose yards for the second week in a row. Ball certainly didn’t look ready, and after two dropped passes, he was done for the day.

Pressure

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

It goes without saying, but pressure makes any great quarterback look mortal—including Peyton Manning. Entering Week 11, the Rams had 16 sacks in their last four contests after starting the season with one sack over the course of their first five games. The 16 sacks since Week 7 are tied for the most in the NFL (with the Vikings) during that time.

On Sunday, the Rams were able to sack Manning twice. Manning is the least-sacked quarterback in the NFL this year, as he was only been brought down nine times before the game against the Rams.

Under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the Rams have blitzed on a whopping 47 percent of opponents' dropbacks in 2014. That rate is good for first in the NFL. The Rams showed no fear when facing Manning, and they put him under duress with four quarterback hits in addition to their two sacks.

The stats reveal how Manning’s game changes when under duress:

Completion Percentage	Completion Percentage Under Duress
67.7 %	42.6%
Time Before Pass	Time Before Pass Under Duress
2.29 seconds	2.81 seconds

Twitter Reaction

Broncos fans are not happy with this outcome. After the game, I asked my Twitter followers for their thoughts.

"

@cecillammey CJA. 9 rushes. 9. Total. In 4 quarters. Seriously.

— Omaha Bronco (@OmahaBronco) November 16, 2014"

"

@cecillammey 9 rushing attempts and ZERO confidence in McManus in a dome from 50+

— Ron Goldberg (@TheGoobzilla) November 16, 2014"

"

@cecillammey The tm has broadcast the prob. Why do U think they changd 60% of their OLine & tried out Incognito? Cuz they no th line is JUNK

— Jason (@jasonleejason) November 16, 2014"

"

@cecillammey O line the most glaring concern. Quinn was abusing Clady all game, putting pressure on Manning.

— Darrin Clough (@Broncodarrin) November 16, 2014"

"

@15rmac15 @cecillammey Anderson had 9 carries, that's a serious problem. He is playing as well as anyone on offense and needs more looks

— Justin Hill (@justinhill_CO) November 16, 2014"

"

@cecillammey Can't stop running the ball just because you're down 6 and then 9 in the 3rd quarter. Especially when you're missing WRs

— Charles Tolen (@CharlesTolen) November 16, 2014"

As you can see, the offensive line and the curious lack of a running game were the primary answers coming from Broncos Country.

Summary

The Broncos went 1-2 on this three-game road trip. They are still atop the AFC West but just barely, as they have an identical record with the surging Kansas City Chiefs.

The injury problems will take care of themselves. We’ll get more information about the health status of all three players at some point in the near future.

The offensive line problems continue to plague this team. The Broncos may turn to free agency for answers at the position. They’ve tried a few different combinations up front, but none have worked to their liking. This problem must be addressed quickly, as the Broncos are now in a fight for the division lead.

This is certainly a bump in the road for the Broncos. They were banged up and outplayed in Week 11. Expect them to regroup and come back with a better performance at home against the Miami Dolphins in Week 12.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via email from the Denver Broncos unless otherwise noted.