Something is clearly wrong with the Denver Broncos offense. What that is, though, is a little hard to say.
Is it the run game, which has looked anemic over the last four weeks? Or is the offensive line? They’ve looked more like matadors than professional football players as of late. But maybe that’s just because the quarterback, whether that be Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch, is incapable of alleviating any of the burden from his teammates? And maybe that’s only because his wideouts are either (a) not getting open or (b) dropping the balls thrown their way?
Simply put, there’s not a clear solution.
But Emmanuel Sanders thinks the first place they need to look is the run game.
“We gotta be able to run the football because teams are coming out … teams are starting to play zone coverage, Cover 2,” Sanders told Nate Burleson on Pro Football Now, via SI.com. “You gotta be able to run the football when they go and play us like that, when they’re dropping so deep into the curl, into the flat. … Teams don’t want to play us man. As humble as I can say that, teams do not want to play us man.
“We gotta be able to run the football, we’re trying to get to that point, [and] the moment we start running the football, we’ll become way more productive as an offensive unit.”
After averaging 141 yards on the ground through the first two weeks of the season, Denver has only managed 77 yards per game over the last four. Whether that’s a product of injuries across the line or a step back in performance from the Broncos top two backs, something needs to improve.
In a Gary Kubiak offense, the most-important factor for success is the running game, and it’s not clicking right now. We’ll see if they can get back on track this Monday against a Houston Texans defense that ranks 21st against the run.