The Denver Broncos were dealt a massive blow last week after Alex Singleton tore his ACL. Suddenly, without their defensive captain and leading tackler, the team was forced to adapt — and Justin Strnad and Cody Barton came up big in Sunday’s win against the New York Jets.
Denver Broncos linebackers step up in win vs. Jets
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton met with us on Monday morning for his weekly conference call following a game, and while much of the conversation had a lot to do with the team’s East Coast road trip and how they weathered the storm on Sunday, one of the more important factors was how Denver’s linebacker unit played.
Coming on the heels of Singleton’s devastating injury, nobody knew who was going to start at linebacker next to Cody Barton on Sunday. Justin Strnad got the nod and was impressive. On the very first play of the game, Strnad came free on a blitz and sacked Aaron Rodgers, which helped set the tone for Denver defensively.
It’s hard to replace a guy like Singleton and his production, but Payton felt the defense and Barton and Strnad specifically, stepped up. Strnad ended up filling in for Singleton’s role, while Barton maintained where he’s been playing.
“I think it would be more [ILB] Alex [Singleton] to [ILB] Justin [Strnad] because [ILB] Cody [Barton] kind of stayed in the same position he’s been playing,” Payton said. “I mean Cody had the green dot, but other than that—those guys stepped up. It’s always difficult when you lose someone who’s been as productive and certainly one of the team leaders. [I] was proud of the way those young guys played.”
Denver’s defense was everywhere on Sunday, sacking Rodgers a total of five times. Strnad tabbed one, but Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, Malcolm Roach, P.J. Locke, and John Franklin-Myers all got involved in what was a complete effort for the second week in a row.
“I think we won that battle up front [yesterday],” Payton said. “I think on both sides that was important. It’s been a combination of players that have been here and it’s been combination of players that [General Manager] George [Paton] and I felt like could help us win here. Then [it was] getting the leadership and production from certain guys that were playing with energy. It’s hard to sack [Jets QB] Aaron [Rodgers]. You guys know that. He’s real good with his release and to have five sacks is unusual in a game. Again, we felt like they were a pretty good rushing team too going in and we saw that a year ago. So I was pleased with our ability to win those little battles.”
Denver’s rebuilt front seven has been crucial, and they’ll be relied upon once again this upcoming week with the Las Vegas Raiders coming to town, a team that the Broncos haven’t beaten since they were in Oakland. The Broncos will look to snap that streak on Sunday.
