Balanced Offensive Attack Spurs Peyton Manning, Broncos Offense to Bounce Back

Until Sunday’s 39-36 win over the Miami Dolphins, the Denver Broncos had gone nearly a month without a balanced offensive attack. Their struggles running the ball proved that even quarterback Peyton Manning needs at least an average rushing offense to be successful, and there is such a thing as diminishing returns when he gets over 50 pass attempts.

A balanced attack Sunday not only helped the Broncos bounce back from their second loss in three weeks, but it also helped get Manning back on track. The Broncos probably don’t always need to have a 50-50 run-pass split as they did against the Dolphins, but the overcorrection gave rise to running back C.J. Anderson and the return of great play by a talented offensive line.

Coming into the game, Manning had thrown two interceptions in three consecutive games for the first time as a Bronco but the seventh time in his career. Something about playing the New England Patriots apparently throws Manning off his game, because the last three instances—all since 2009—started with a game against Bill Belichick’s squad. The previous four were from 1998-2001 but all still oddly included a game against the Patriots.

Manning was a hyper-efficient 28 of 35 for just 257 yards against the Dolphins, but he also tossed four touchdowns. Although he didn’t miss often, the early indication was that Manning was still struggling to find his groove. The Dolphins were jumping screen passes, Manning was being pressured and rushing his throws and he missed wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders deep a couple times.

The Broncos gave Manning time to work out the kinks by giving the ball to Anderson, who finished with 27 carries for 167 yards and a touchdown. That’s a healthy 6.2 yards per carry to go along with four receptions for 28 yards.

The running game performance was a direct result of better blocking by the offensive line. Backup Juwan Thompson averaged 6.6 yards per carry by rushing for 33 yards on five carries and, like Anderson, gained big yardage at the second and third levels of the defense. Neither Anderson nor Thompson had to fight through much traffic at the line of scrimmage.

The offensive line was under the microscope this week when former Broncos offensive lineman turned ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth slammed the line in a radio interview on ESPN 102.3 in Denver. Schlereth may have done the Broncos a favor, at least from a motivational standpoint, because the Broncos planned to stick with the run.

Without tight end Julius Thomas, the Broncos turned to Virgil Green, who is a better blocker than receiver. Green assisted the offensive line in pushing around Miami’s defensive front, but he was especially effective helping to seal the edge and getting to the second level.

"I thought Virgil (Green) blocked his tail off the entire game,” Manning said after the game via Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com.

The Broncos certainly didn’t play a perfect game, but the performance of the running backs behind superb blocking by the offensive line mitigated the problems. The Broncos muffed a punt, missed a short field goal and committed nine penalties for 98 yards.

The running game also protected a defense that didn’t have its best day. The Dolphins scored 36 points on nine offensive drives, not including a kneel-down at the end of the half. That’s 4.0 points per drive allowed compared to the NFL average of 1.87 points per drive. The Broncos came into the day allowing just 1.75 points per drive.

Miami’s offensive performance was similar to that of the Patriots three weeks ago when they averaged 3.3 points per drive against the Broncos and 4.3 on their first 10 drives before coasting to victory in the fourth quarter. The Broncos trailed early in both games, but instead of compounding the issue by being one-dimensional, they stayed committed to the run and scored with timely passes.

The defense struggled the most in the red zone, as it allowed touchdowns on every Dolphins trip inside its 20. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill had three of the five through the air, and the Dolphins rushed for the other two.

Tannehill escaped Denver’s pass rush all day and completed passes to eight different receivers. Six different receivers caught at least two passes and had more than 20 yards. Only defensive tackle Terrance Knighton was able to get to Tannehill for a sack.

A defensive performance at home like this is a concern, but if the Broncos can continue to run the ball as they did, they’ll be able to limit the damage. Manning won’t be a game manager often, but even when he is you can count on him to get you seven points instead of three at the end of drives.

The Broncos seemingly got back on track just in time for next week’s divisional showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs that rank No. 1 in the league against the pass and No. 27 against the run in yards per game. In yards per pass attempt allowed the Chiefs were fourth coming into the day behind the Dolphins, Broncos and 49ers, but they have allowed a league-worst 5.0 yards per carry.

Team	Pass YPG	Rush YPG	Pass YPA	Rush YPC
Chiefs	198.9 (1)	129.4 (27)	6.4 (4)	5.0 (32)
Dolphins	208.0 (2)	94.5 (8)	6.1 (1)	3.8 (7T)

To have success against the Chiefs, the Broncos will need to run the ball effectively. In Week 2, the Broncos nearly lost the game at home in the final minutes after only managing 24 points and 88 rushing yards.

The Broncos got back on track at home this week, but the struggles have mostly been on the road this season. Next week’s game is not just a key game in the AFC West but a barometer of the Broncos to go on the road against a playoff team and win. If they do, chances are the running game is going to play a key role.

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics via NFL.com or Pro-Football-Reference.com.