Dud No. 1 – Offensive Linemen Not Named Vasquez or Mathis
43. No, it’s not the answer to “life the universe and everything.” That would be “42,” according to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. No, 43 is the number of rush yards by the Denver Broncos offense on Sunday, the team’s second-lowed of the season.
Pro Football Focus graded out Denver’s overall pass blocking at a -1.1 and their overall run blocking at a ghastly -3.4. Of the seven linemen who saw snaps against the Raiders, only Louis Vasquez had positive ratings on both the run and the pass. Mathis registered a +2.8 run block rating, the best on the team by a three-fold margin.
Mathis wasn’t perfect though, he allowed two hurries on the day to go with the three allowed by Ryan Harris to his left. Michael Schofield had the worst day of the bunch, allowing one sack and five hurries.
Worse, the o-line couldn’t open up any running lanes for C.J. Anderson or Ronnie Hillman. In addition to the dismal 43 yards rushing, Denver averaged just 2.4 yards per carry with a long run of only 10 yards.
