Broncos Must Turn Up the Heat on 3rd Down, Lack of Pass Rush Troublesome

The Denver Broncos had a tough time against the St. Louis Rams in Week 11. They suffered their third loss of the season at the hands of the Rams by a score of 22-7.

The offense obviously struggled to score points, as they put up the lowest points total of the Peyton Manning era. The problems on the offensive side of the ball certainly impacted the outcome for the Broncos.

However, the team’s defense holds some of the blame for the loss as well.

The Denver defense came into Week 11 with the No. 1 rushing defense in the league. No back had rushed for 100 yards against the Broncos, and the best day any back had against Denver was the 88-yard performance by Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch in Week 3.

That mark was bested on Sunday by Rams rookie running back Tre Mason. The Broncos allowed the rookie to rush for 113 yards on 29 carries in Week 11. The rush defense wasn’t the only breakdown on the defensive side of the ball—the Broncos also struggled to get pressure on quarterback Shaun Hill.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Hill was making his second start of the season for the Rams. The veteran quarterback was added in free agency during the offseason with the idea that he could be a valuable backup behind Sam Bradford. When Bradford was lost for the year, Hill was pegged as the team’s starter.

He began the season as the starter, but Hill suffered a thigh injury in Week 1. Austin Davis then took over as the starter and held the job through Week 10. The team changed back to Hill before the Broncos game, and he took advantage of a defense that failed to create adequate pressure on the quarterback.

The Rams were able to continue drive after drive because the Broncos couldn’t get them off the field. This is reflected in the time of possession—a stat that the Rams clearly dominated. The Rams had the ball for almost 36 minutes, while the Broncos held the ball for just a little over 24 minutes.

The longest drive for the Broncos on Sunday came in the first quarter. The total time of possession during that 10-play, 42-yard drive was three minutes and 55 seconds. The drive came to an end on the Rams' 37-yard line after the Broncos failed to convert a fourth-down play. By comparison, the Rams had four drives during the game that were longer than Denver’s longest drive in Week 11.

The rest of the Broncos drives were nothing of note. Denver had seven drives in the game against the Rams that didn’t even hit the two-minute mark.

The Broncos couldn’t get much started offensively, and they couldn’t get the Rams off the field to get the ball back.

Cornerback Chris Harris knows what they must do going forward. “We just have to force some turnovers. We’ve got to figure out a way to light a spark in the game.”

Denver was able to sack Hill three times in Week 11, but the pressure wasn’t consistent. In total, the Broncos only had four quarterback hits against the Rams.

Simply put, a team with such elite talent on the defensive side of the ball must do a better job of getting to—and bringing down—the quarterback.

NFL.com - Game Rewind

The Rams' first third-down conversion came on their first third down of the game. On a 3rd-and-3, Hill was able to strike deep against the Broncos defense with a 33-yard pass to wide receiver Kenny Britt. Broncos defensive back Aqib Talib was in coverage on the play, and he was not aided by any sort of pass rush up front.

This picture shows how Von Miller was pushed around the corner by right tackle Joe Barksdale. On the left side of the line, rookie tackle Greg Robinson is easily handling Derek Wolfe. Hill has plenty of time to hit Britt for the big gain. Had he been a bit more accurate, Britt might have scored on that play.

NFL.com - Game Rewind

This next third-down play (3rd-and-2) has the Broncos showing a blitz before the snap. Strong safety T.J. Ward (highlighted) has aggressively moved up to the line of scrimmage, and it looks like he’s going to rush the passer.

NFL.com - Game Rewind

Instead, the ball is snapped and Ward drifts into coverage—but there’s nobody really around his area of the field. Hill is able to easily hit Stedman Bailey for a 10-yard gain that moves the chains. The Rams keep six players in to pass protect, and the Broncos don’t get to Hill before he strikes.

NFL.com - Game Rewind

Defensive tackle Terrance Knighton pulled no punches when talking about the Rams loss.

“We could’ve created turnovers to change the momentum of the game and we didn’t. Our offense couldn’t get a rhythm going so it didn’t look like we played too well.” Knighton emphasized, “We didn’t play well enough to win on either side of the ball.”

The Broncos spent a lot of money on the defensive side of the ball earlier this year during free agency.

DeMarcus Ware was one of the biggest signings for the Broncos. The future Hall of Fame pass-rusher signed a three-year, $30 million contract with $20 million guaranteed.

Ward was the first free agent the Broncos signed, and they inked him to a contract right at the start of the process. The Broncos gave him $14 million guaranteed on a four-year, $22.5 million dollar deal.

Players like Ware and Ward (and Miller, others) need to help change the momentum when the offense is struggling. This graph shows how little impact the Broncos pass-rushers had against Hill and the Rams.

Passer Rating	Comp %	Yds/Comp	1st Down/Att	Blitz/Dropback
102.7	69.0	11.00	41.4%	12.5%
League Average
91.3	63.3	11.51	36.1%	30.1%

Going forward, the Broncos should look at blitzing more. They have talented pass-rushers, but relying on only Ware and Miller to create pressure is a mistake.

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio needs to design more exotic blitzes for the Broncos to employ when standard four-man pressure is not getting the job done. The Broncos offense is one of the best in the game today—even though they didn’t play like it on Sunday. When the Broncos struggle on offense, Del Rio and his defense need to create turnovers and pressure the quarterback.

We’ll see if Del Rio will be open to blitzing more often in the coming weeks. The Broncos have little room for error in the AFC. Catching up to the New England Patriots looks impossible at this time, and Denver has a race on their hands to even win the division since the Kansas City Chiefs keep winning most weeks.

Del Rio and the defense need to work diligently to create pressure in multiple ways with varying players. If they do that, then Denver can get back on the winning track and build momentum for the playoffs.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via email from the Denver Broncos unless otherwise noted. Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac.com. Transaction history provided by ProSportsTransactions.com.