Denver Broncos Week 12 Stock Report
The Denver Broncos were able to get back on the winning track in Week 11. They traveled to Chicago to face former head coach John Fox, and the Broncos came away with a 17-15 victory.
Fourth-year quarterback Brock Osweiler made the first start of his pro career, and the team seemed to be energized by the young passer.
With Osweiler running the show, the Broncos offense was more balanced, and Denver rushed for a season-high 170 yards as a team. By running the ball, the Broncos easily won the time-of-possession battle with the Bears. This allowed their defense to get plenty of rest during the contest, and that made them more effective when getting after Jay Cutler and the Bears offense.
Things clicked for the Broncos offense, and head coach Gary Kubiak praised the team at his Monday press conference.
“First off, obviously very proud of our football team," Kubiak said. "It was a big win for our team. [We] had a little adversity going on—missing some players, those type of things—and guys responded and played really well. ... We played hard, found a way to make the big plays at the end of the game, so [I am] really proud of them."
Here is the stock report for the Broncos as they head into Week 12.
Stock Up: QB Brock Osweiler
1 of 5
The Broncos have developed Osweiler for years, and that patience payed off on Sunday. He went 20-of-27 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Bears. Osweiler posted the highest first-start completion percentage (74.1) in team history, and his 250 yards and 127.1 quarterback rating rank second in team history for a player making his first start with the Broncos.
Beyond the numbers, Osweiler showed incredible confidence throughout the game. He was sacked five times, but it never seemed to rattle the young quarterback. Osweiler would pick himself up and keep attacking the defense within the design of Kubiak's system.
Kubiak appreciated Osweiler’s demeanor.
"I think he was himself from the day we said, 'OK, you're starting this week. Let's go.' I didn't see him try to overreact to it or anything. I think as the week went along and the game got closer, I felt him [being] more confident.
"I think he was excellent in the meeting on Saturday night. He was great with his teammates. I think, if anything, through handling the team all week and the practice all week, he gained more confidence as we got closer to game day."
The more playing time and experience Osweiler gets, the more his confidence should grow.
Stock Down: G Evan Mathis
2 of 5
The offensive line has struggled this year, and left guard Evan Mathis has been one of the unit’s poorest performers. Defenders have pancaked him more than once this season, and that happened against the Bears on Sunday.
With the left guard position vacated by Orlando Franklin leaving in free agency to the San Diego Chargers, the Broncos initially picked up veteran Shelley Smith to compete with Ben Garland for the starting job. Garland was the starter throughout minicamp and OTAs, but after four days of training camp, he was replaced.
Smith did not replace him, rather the team turned to rookie fourth-round pick Max Garcia. He was decent during most of training camp and the preseason, but the Broncos decided that adding Mathis via free agency was the better move—when his price tag came down.
Mathis was a “name” free agent whom many Broncos fans were happy to add. He battled nagging injuries during the latter half of the preseason, and Mathis ended up with zero game experience by the time Week 1 rolled around. He’s had an up-and-down season, but against the Bears, it seemed to be mostly down.
To make matters worse, Mathis injured his ankle in the Bears game. His status for Week 12 against the Patriots is now up in the air.
Kubiak has altered things this week because of the holiday and due to the team’s travel schedule over the last week.
“We changed our schedule a little bit because we've had some really rough travel here the last couple of days, so I'm trying to get them out of here and give them a break," Kubiak said. "[It was] just briefly, so we'll see where we are on Wednesday. [G] Evan Mathis obviously came out of the game with an ankle.
“We'll see where we are when we go back to work.”
Mathis needs to get healthy and start playing better, or else a player like Garcia could replace him in the starting lineup.
Stock Up: RB Ronnie Hillman
3 of 5
Starting running back Ronnie Hillman recorded his third 100-yard game of the season—but his first as a starter—with 102 yards on 21 carries against the Bears. Hillman did not have any huge runs this week, and his longest carry of the game was 15 yards. While he didn’t bust off a huge run, Hillman was consistent and effective as the starter.
Behind Hillman, C.J. Anderson continued to impress as a change-of-pace back. Anderson ran with plenty of burst, and on more than one occasion, it took multiple defenders to take him down to the ground.
Kubiak was thrilled with Hillman and Anderson’s performances in Week 11.
“We ran it pretty good," Kubiak said. "We ran it for 170 or something. We kept running, we had some really big drives out of the hole that maybe weren’t points for us but really changed the field position of the game.”
The coach was pleased, but he did see room for improvement.
“If we were better at short yardage today, we maybe could have closed the game," Kubiak said. "That’s something we have to address and do a better job at. I think some of our boots [bootleg plays], some things helped us a bit. They were up the field and helped us run the ball some.”
The zone-blocking scheme is great in many situations, but it can struggle to get enough push in short-yardage scenarios. Going forward, the Broncos need to make sure they have enough beef up front to pick up tough yards.
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Stock Down: SS T.J. Ward
4 of 5
There are not a lot of problems with the Broncos defense, but one criticism is the team’s lack of composure at times.
NFLPenalties.com keeps track of penalties by teams on a game-by-game basis. Through 10 games, the Broncos defense has accounted for 44 penalties (4.4 per game).
T.J. Ward is tied for first on the team with seven defensive penalties so far in 2015. The 74 yards of penalties given up by Ward lead the team by a wide margin.
Simply put, Ward is playing out of control at times—and it’s costing the team.
Ward plays to the echo of the whistle, and he has the reputation as one of the most intimidating players in the league. The team doesn’t want to change his playing style, but Ward needs to dial things back just a bit when things get heated on the field. The Broncos can’t afford to have any dumb or ill-timed penalties in close games going forward.
Kubiak does not like the amount of personal foul penalties the team has been getting this season.
“It's frustrating," Kubiak said. "[Sunday], I don't think that they had any penalties and what did we have, seven or eight? Something like that. We committed some [penalties], but we made some plays, too. We talk about them, and we keep working. ... I say this all the time, our aggression as a defense, playing man coverage and being aggressive is not going to change. Hopefully, our penalties can continue to get better.”
Stock Up: TE Vernon Davis
5 of 5
It was clear from the beginning of the Bears game that tight end Vernon Davis was going to be quite involved in the game plan. Osweiler targeted Davis six times—a season high for his time with the Broncos. The veteran tight end caught every pass thrown his way and finished the game with six catches for 68 yards.
Owen Daniels also saw his number called quite a bit against the Bears. Osweiler targeted Daniels five times, and he hauled in four catches for a team-high 69 yards on Sunday.
Daniels likes what having Davis on the field does for the entire offense.
"Having an extra guy, you can kind of rotate," Daniels said. "Some of our two-tight end packages are with me and Vernon. Some are with me and Virg. Sometimes they're out there together. It's a good mix-up of what we're doing. Having an extra guy definitely helps.
“You look back at our stuff from 2011, 2012 in Houston, it was myself, Joel Dreessen and Garrett Graham, and the next year it was myself, Garrett and James Casey. Three capable guys—that always makes things a little easier, and then you can put all three of them out there at the same time as well."
With a true version of the Kubiak offense in place with Osweiler at quarterback, we should continue to see more of the tight ends in the game plan each week. Davis has the size/speed combination to create mismatches every time he’s on the field. He should become a favorite target of Osweiler in the weeks to come.
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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