Broncos' Vaunted Pass Rush Comes Up Short When Needed Most

The Denver Broncos' postseason ended in disaster. After finishing the year as the No. 2 seed in the AFC, the Broncos earned a bye, allowing them to rest during Wild Card Weekend. Many thought they would feel fresh after the time off and come out of the gate hot against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional Round.

Instead, the Colts had a relatively easy time beating the Broncos, 24-13, on Sunday.

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck had a lot of time to throw, and he was able to pick apart the Broncos defense methodically and rhythmically.

Denver finished the game with zero sacks and only four quarterback hits.

The Broncos couldn’t generate a pass rush on Sunday. After the game, Colts head coach Chuck Pagano praised the team’s offensive line.

“The offensive line did a stand-up job, and you’ve got a team that had 41 sacks on the season, and great rushers on the inside and [linebacker] Von Miller and [defensive end] DeMarcus Ware on the outside. The offensive line, they did a great job,” Pagano told reporters. “Andrew’s got the ability to extend plays and buy time and move around and manipulate the pocket, if you will, but they did a great job.”

Luck was also very proud of the job the offensive line did up front.

“They did a heck of a job. That’s a good pass-rushing unit with some tough stuff to handle blitz-wise and they did a heck of a job and I think they’ve earned the right to go out there and expect to do a heck of a job. They do it in practice and they’ve done it in games; bunch of good guys.”

The Broncos had one of the most vaunted pass rushes in the entire league, but against the Colts, they came up short, much to the surprise of Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith:

DeMarcus Ware

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Ware was arguably the biggest free-agent signing the Broncos added last year. During the first week of free agency, Ware received a three-year, $30 million contract with a $5 million signing bonus, $20 million guaranteed and an annual average salary of $10 million.

He started out the season looking better than he did in his disappointing six-sack season of 2013. Ware even had a three-sack game in Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers, but he seemed to slow down in the second half of the season.

Ware finished the season with 10.0 sacks, but he only registered three sacks after Week 8. Plus, Ware had not gotten to the quarterback in the last month of the season.

Even with the bye week to rest, Ware failed to recapture his early-season success against the Colts on Sunday. Like every Broncos defender, he failed to bring down Luck in the playoffs, finishing the game with four total tackles and no quarterback hits.

The veteran pass-rusher was complimentary of Indianapolis' signal-caller.

“Andrew Luck is a good quarterback. We knew what we were getting into when he first came here in the first [regular-season] game. We didn’t play consistent enough to win and you have to go back and reevaluate things. He’s one of those quarterbacks that can string plays out and that’s what he does best,” Ware concluded. “He made a couple big plays on us and now we just have to think about how we can get better and move on.”

Von Miller

USA TODAY Sports

Miller certainly had a bounce-back season after a disappointing 2013. He finished this year with 14.0 sacks and looked like the player he used to be. In 2013, Miller was first suspended then later suffered a season-ending knee injury (Week 16).

He was eased back into action this year in training camp and started the season with a slightly reduced role. Once Miller proved he was healthy enough to be the force he used to be, the Broncos let him wreak havoc on opponents.

Miller was quiet throughout most of the game against the Colts, however. He finished with six total tackles—two for a loss—and one quarterback hit.

After the game, he admitted there will be some near-sacks that stick with him.

“There are a lot of plays that I’ll have in my mind for a while. There is a part of it where you’re close sometimes and then sometimes you’re not so close. We fought hard. There is a lot of stuff that we’ve got to get better at.”

“I’m still confident in the team that we have and the team that we will have,” Miller continued. “Our front office, [executive VP of football operations/general manager] John Elway and [Head] Coach [John] Fox and all the guys over there, they create this for us, and they’ll keep creating it for us to help us be better in the future. So I’m confident with where we’re at and I don’t think this loss defines this season. We lost. It was tough, but I don’t think this loss will define our team in the future.”

Terrance Knighton

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

The big man in the middle was surprised the Broncos didn’t get more pressure on Luck.

“Yeah, it’s difficult playing against a guy like that who can beat you with his feet and his arm, and he’s strong in the pocket. They mix it up a lot, he’ll get the ball out quick, and at times he was taking his time in the pocket. They came in with a good game plan,” Knighton concluded. “We were able to pick him off twice, but we didn’t do enough to impact their game on the scoreboard.”

With elite edge pressure (and so much offensive line attention dedicated to it), Knighton was able to make quarterbacks uncomfortable up the middle in 2014. The man known as "Pot Roast"—like other Broncos defenders—was close to bringing down Luck on more than one occasion in the divisional round, but only recorded one quarterback hit on the afternoon.

What's Next for Denver?

This was a frustrating way to end the season for the Broncos. There may be multiple things that look different in 2015.

The Broncos could lose defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, who's reportedly one of the favorites to become the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, per ESPN.com's Bill Williamson. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday that Oakland is "expected to try to meet again" with Del Rio for a second interview, now that Denver's season is over.

The Broncos could lose key free agents on both sides of the ball, too. Defensively, Knighton is arguably their most important player to re-sign. He was non-committal on Sunday when asked if he would return to Denver.

“I hope to be here, but we’ll just see how the business side works out.” Knighton said.

The Broncos have a ton of business to take care of before the start of the 2015 season.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via NFL.com or ESPN.com unless otherwise noted. Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac.com. Transaction history provided by ProSportsTransactions.com.