The Denver Broncos offense will have their hands full this week against a more experienced Pittsburgh Steelers defense, that have an elite defender at nearly every level of their personnel unit. After struggling last week, Denver’s offense and rookie quarterback Bo Nix face an even tougher test at home.
Denver Broncos facing stiff challenge of preventing T.J. Watt from impacting the game
T.J. Watt is a one-man wrecking crew for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, but he has some really talented players around him defensively that help make his job easier to disrupt the flow of opposing offenses.
Watt was robbed of the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award last season, and his Week 1 performance against the Atlanta Falcons seemed to indicate that he isn’t going to let that slide. He had four tackles and one sack in the final stat line, but a strip sack and fumble recovery were taken away due to a penalty. Atlanta had no answer for him most of the game, and Denver will have to try and find one if they hope to avoid starting out 0-2 on the season.
When you watch Watt on tape against the Falcons, he’s physically disruptive, hard to block, and plays with a motor that is hard to counter against. Mike McGlinchey, Garett Bolles, or Matt Peart will have their hands full this week in pass protection and in the run-blocking department.
“I don’t get into naming who the top defensive players are, but he’s in that discussion,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said. “He’s certainly disruptive in the run game and disruptive in the pass game. Each film you look at, he’s beating doubles. He’s very athletic. I think he’s very strong, and he can bend. Those are all good traits to have, and he’s exceptionally smart.”
Opposite to him, Alex Highsmith is another very capable pass rusher who can also negatively impact the offensive game plan. Combine that with a healthy Cam Hayward, a new addition at inside linebacker in Patrick Queen, and Minkah Fitzpatrick roaming the backend and sometimes coming into the box — the Steelers will be the toughest test yet for Payton and Nix.
The challenge is big this week, but it’s also the perfect opportunity for Nix to bounce back against an elite level defense.