Denver Broncos Week 10 Stock Report
The Denver Broncos suffered their first loss of the season in Week 9 as they fell 27-24 to the Indianapolis Colts. Both sides of the ball struggled to impress on Sunday, and the Broncos must now go back to the drawing board to get on the winning track.
They return home this week to face their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs. This will be the first time this season the Broncos have played a team twice. In Week 2, the Broncos beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium and are looking for another “W” in the column in Week 10.
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak will look back to Week 2 and forward to what’s happening now to determine what game plan is best against the Chiefs this time around.
“We got a lot of turnovers that day—very fortunate to end the game—but right now, we’re trying to focus on how they’ve been playing," Kubiak said. "They’ve been playing very well and they’ve had two weeks off to get ready to play.”
He explained: “The first time we played each other, there was a three-day preparation. From a schematic standpoint, it was a pretty vanilla game. I wouldn’t think that would be the case this time. They’re a good football team and we understand that. We’ll have to play better than we played the first time around.”
Here is the stock report for the Broncos as they head into Week 10.
Stock Up: TE Owen Daniels
1 of 5
After it looked like his stock was down with the trade for tight end Vernon Davis, Owen Daniels came through with the best game of his 2015 season. He played a season-low 43 snaps but was targeted nine times and caught six passes for 102 yards and one touchdown.
As Davis gets used to his surroundings in Denver, the team may continue using Daniels in a similar fashion to what it did in Week 9. That means we could see Daniels run more deep routes. Peyton Manning had a season-high 10.53 air-yards-per-attempt average against the Colts (his season average is 8.74 yards), with many of those long passes going toward Daniels.
Manning talked about why the team went deep more often against the Colts: “I think we try and do that every week, not just throw underneath the whole time and take some shots down the field. Hit the big one to Emmanuel (Sanders) on third down and hit a couple good ones to Owen (Daniels) and obviously had one earlier to Emmanuel that we just didn’t connect on.”
Davis may take a few more weeks to get used to the Denver offense. In the meantime, Daniels is proving that he does not have a problem with making plays downfield.
Stock Down: CB Aqib Talib
2 of 5
Starting cornerback Aqib Talib had a rough game against the Colts, and his actions are going to cost him—and the team—in Week 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He received a one-game suspension for poking Colts tight end Dwayne Allen in the eye late in the game. Talib appealed the suspension, but his former teammate Derrick Brooks (now an NFL appeals officer) decided to uphold the ruling.
Talib revealed that he and Kubiak had a conversation about the incident after the Colts game on the plane ride home.
“He just told me that I've got to be smarter than that," Talib said. "He was telling me everything that I already knew. I know that I've got to be smarter than that. [I have] got to make better decisions, especially in that time of the game. We have full confidence that if we stop them on that third down with the two minutes [remaining], [QB] Peyton [Manning] will come down, score a touchdown and get that 187th win in dramatic fashion.”
Talib admitted: “I cost us the opportunity to go down and get those points. That's kind of what we talked about on that plane.”
If the Broncos have to play a game without their starting cornerback, the Chiefs are the perfect opponent. Alex Smith is not known as a bold passer, and the Chiefs don’t have proven wide receivers outside of veteran Jeremy Maclin.
Stock Up: CB Bradley Roby
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With Talib suspended, second-year cornerback Bradley Roby will get a larger role this week. He should start opposite Chris Harris Jr.
For two seasons, Roby has worked as the nickel corner as he gets up to speed in the pros. He’s had an up-and-down season, but he plays with supreme confidence and rarely makes the same mistake twice.
Roby is moving past the loss to the Colts last week.
“As soon as the game is over you have to do that no matter if it's good or bad," he said. "You can't ever dwell on the past because you're living in the future. You can take things from a win that you didn't do as well and fix it, so that's what we've been doing, but it's coming from a loss.
"We're just trying to fix our corrections and get better this week.”
With Harris likely covering Maclin, we could see Roby on either Albert Wilson or Chris Conley. Roby has the recovery speed to play off coverage, and he can transition smoothly on routes that go by him.
Roby won the game for the Broncos the last time these two teams played with his late-game fumble recovery for a touchdown. We’ll see if he can once again come through in a big way for the Broncos on Sunday.
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Stock Down: RB Ronnie Hillman
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Ronnie Hillman has started the last two games at running back for the Broncos, but he’s been less effective than he was as a backup. Over the first six games of the year, he had two 100-yard games and racked up 340 rushing yards on 60 carries (4.89 yards per carry). During the last two games as the starter, he has yet to eclipse 100 yards in a game and has only 56 yards on 26 carries (2.35 yards per carry).
C.J. Anderson began the season as the starter, but he injured his ankle/toe in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens and didn’t look quite like himself for the next month or so. This led the team to replace him as the starter with the smaller (but more explosive) Hillman.
With his lack of production in recent weeks, Hillman’s best role with this team might be as a reserve running back.
Kubiak would not reveal who the starting running back would be against the Chiefs: “I’m going to watch them practice and compete. I’ve told you guys, I think they’re both No. 1s, but I want to watch them compete. We’re going to have a good padded practice tomorrow.”
Kubiak continued: “I want to see them go through it. They’re both going to play. That’s not going to change, but I want them in a competitive environment full time.”
Anderson was banged up earlier this year, but it seems like he’s healthy now. He has better burst to and through the hole, plus he is back to running with power between the tackles.
If Anderson proves in practice that he’s the better back, then Kubiak will use him as the starter. Hillman would then return to being a backup, but we know he can be productive in that role.
Stock Up: WR Emmanuel Sanders
5 of 5
We saw more of an emphasis to get wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders the ball last week. The team decided to use him more on offense after he had a down week against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.
Against the Colts, Sanders ran 31 routes and was targeted 11 times. He caught six of those passes for 90 yards and one touchdown. The previous week against the Packers, he only ran 29 routes and was targeted just five times, catching two passes for 22 yards.
Sanders is ready for an intense matchup against the Chiefs in Week 10: “I think it's an AFC opponent and it's an AFC West opponent. Regardless if we face Kansas City, San Diego or Oakland, we have to bring our A-game. I think that we will.
"I know that Kansas City's back is against the wall. I know that they're going to come out and they're going to throw their best punches at us. We have to be prepared for that. Kansas City reminds me a lot of Indianapolis. It's that same type of mentality.”
Sanders reflected: “Last week, Indy's back was against the wall. We have to handle business this Sunday. We have to go out and get a win.”
With the Broncos back at home this week, Sanders should continue to be more involved. The Chiefs have some pass-rushers who will get pressure on Manning. Getting the ball out quickly to a guy like Sanders is a good plan of attack in Week 10.
All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.
Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.
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