One for the Books
It’s not complete hyperbole to call Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears an historic one for the Denver Broncos. It did, after all, secure Brock Osweiler his first career win in his first career start. And on a more macroscopic level, the win guaranteed Denver’s 27th .500-or-better season since 1984 (the year Pat Bowlen took over as owner), which is the best mark in the league over that span, according to team historian Jim Saccomano.
And while the focus will very quickly shift to this Sunday’s highly anticipated matchup with the New England Patriots – who must win on Monday night against Buffalo to bring a perfect 10-0 record to Denver – it’s worth recognizing the best and worst performances from Sunday’s victory over Chicago.
As Von Miller said postgame, “We’re thinking about right now. We had a great win in Chicago. We’re going to ride on the party bus to the airport. Go home and celebrate this win. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about Patriots.”
With that, here are the Broncos “Studs and Duds” from Sunday’s Week 11 victory.
Honorable Mention Stud(s) – Vernon Davis & Owen Daniels
On Friday of last week, our Sam Cowhick penned a feature that effectively outlined the entire Denver Broncos game plan against the Chicago Bears – one that was going to feature a heavy dose of the tight ends. Apparently John Fox stopped reading Cowhick when he left Denver, because he had no answer for Denver’s tight ends all day.
Davis finally broke out, pulling in six catches on six targets for 68 yards. Daniels went for 69 yards himself on four receptions, including two critical third-down conversions late. Virgil Green even got into the action with a catch of his own. We finally got a fuller picture of what role the tight ends can play when the play-action and bootleg are put to use consistently.
All three tight ends were huge in the running game as well, as several of Denver’s big gains went to the outside edge. Pro Football Focus didn’t grade them particularly well this week, but we’re sticking with the numbers and the eye test. Denver had its biggest rushing day of the season on Sunday and the tight ends helped make that happen, directly and indirectly through blocks and demanding downfield coverage.
Stud & Dud – Evan Mathis
It was a very mixed day for Evan Mathis. He was great in the run game, registering a massive 4.7 rating from Pro Football Focus in that category. That, in turn, helped propel the Broncos to 170 yards on the ground, their best effort of the season. Mathis and center Matt Paradis were the only Broncos linemen with positive ratings on the day, making that all the more impressive.
But he was also brutal in pass-blocking scenarios, contributing to Osweiler’s five sacks on the day, sometimes being single-handedly responsible. Mathis found himself pancaked on his tail on more than one occasion, which meant his QB was soon to be there as well.
Still, despite a tough day on that front, Mathis proved he is a team leader and that he has a sense of humor about his play on Sunday.
He sent Osweiler a “Happy Birthday” message on twitter, which consisted of video of the two of them getting flattened in the first quarter. But he was also standing right by Osweiler’s side when the young quarterback received the game ball for earning his first victory.
Check out video for both HERE.
Stud No. 3 – Danny Trevathan
Danny Trevathan has been waiting all year for a breakout game and he finally had it against Chicago.
Trailing his partner in crime, Brandon Marshall, all year in tackles, Trevathan finally led the stat sheet with an eight tackle performance against the Bears on Sunday.
Additionally, he had one pass defended and, most importantly, he had one interception. It was the first turnover of the game for either team and Denver’s first since Week 6 against Cleveland.
With a four-point lead in the third quarter, Denver had forced Chicago to punt on their first possession of the half, but had converted just one first down on their own two offensive possessions. The defense needed another stop and Trevathan made it happen in a big way. He dropped into coverage and stepped into a Jay Cutler pass intended for Marquess Wilson for the interception.
Trevathan has been waiting for a big play like this all season. Sadly, Denver squandered the chance, giving the ball back to Chicago after a failed fourth-and-one from the Bears’ two yard line. Still, it was the momentum swing Denver needed at the time.
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[adrotate group=”1″]Dud No. 2 – T.J. Ward
Another Sunday, another T.J. Ward personal foul penalty. Another spot on the “Duds” list.
Ward was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty after Jay Cutler scrambled for 18 yards on Chicago’s first play of their first possession of the fourth quarter. He came in late on the diving Cutler and made contact with the quarterback’s head. The additional 15 yards moved a play that started on Chicago’s 20 to the Denver 47.
Earlier, Ward had a similar hit on Bears running back Ka’Deem Carey, who left the game with a reported concussion on the play. Ward’s hit there didn’t appear to be the cause of the injury, and he couldn’t be flagged because Carey is a running back, but it was another instance of Ward flying into the play late.
Postgame, Ward’s comments about calls going going against him were that “It seems to go that way every week.” He added, “Whatever,” for good measure.
The fourth-quarter hit on Cutler proved to be moot because Chicago failed to score on a fourth-and-goal and Ward did make a major contribution on the Bears’ two-point conversion attempt to redeem himself. Still, at some point these penalties could come at a time that Denver can’t escape them. As a leader of the the defense, Ward’s “Whatever” attitude feels like a ticking time bomb.
Stud No. 2 – Ronnie Hillman
Following the win on Sunday, head coach Gary Kubiak rallied his team and told them that championship football happens by playing good defense, protecting the football and running the ball. Hillman played a major role in two of those areas against the Bears.
Hillman took the lion’s share of carries on Sunday, going for a team-high 102 yards on 21 carries. He helped propel Denver to its best game on the ground this season – 170 yards. It was Hillman’s third 100-yard game of the season.
Perhaps most importantly for Hillman this year, however, is his improved ball protection. On 124 carries, Hillman has yet to fumble the football. Compare that to five fumbles on 246 carries over the previous three years. Hillman has finally learned to take care of the ball and he’s showing patience as a runner that’s translating into big gains. He already accounts for 27 first downs this season, a career-high.
He picked up four first downs on Sunday and nearly scored his sixth touchdown of the year. On fourth-and-one from the two, he and Brock Osweiler got their feet tangled up and the play resulted in a no gain. Otherwise, we might be talking about an even bigger day for Hillman.
Dud No. 1 – Britton Colquitt
Let’s be fair to Britton Colquitt. It was cold in Chicago. The thermostat read 29 degrees at kickoff and the wind chill had it down to 21 with 57 percent humidity. Those are not ideal conditions for kickers or punters, but Sunday proved to be tough for Colquitt and worse for his Chicago counterpart, Pat O’Donnell.
In seven attempts, Colquitt averaged 39.6 yards, pinning Chicago inside their 20 on just three occasions. Not terrible numbers, but he had a chance to pin Chicago deep in their own territory with less than five minutes to go in the game and his team leading by eight and couldn’t do it. Punting from the Bears’ 49-yard line, Colquitt got just 25 yards of leg on his kick and Chicago took over at their own 24.
O’Donnell didn’t have any punts in the 20-yard range, but he did have three that went for less than 35. Denver converted one of those poor punts into a field goal, crucial scoring in the 17-15 affair.
The real bright side about the game is that we’re essentially squabbling over one bad punt in Colquitt’s case. And the brighter side is that Denver’s defense took that one bad punt and turned it into a turnover by creating a fumble on the Bears’ ensuing possession.
Consider it a good day when the biggest thing to criticize is a fourth-quarter punt.
Stud No. 1 – Brock Osweiler
As James Merilatt pointed out in today’s Daily column, Osweiler was good but not great. But that’s all the Broncos have needed this year. With a swarming defense and two running backs capable of going for more than 100 yards on any given day, Gary Kubiak mostly needs his quarterback to protect the football and keep opposing defenses honest against the run.
Sadly, the future Hall of Fame Quarterback who started the first nine games of the season hasn’t been fully able to do those things. And it’s that fact that makes Osweiler’s “good” performance better than it appears on paper.
Osweiler took the reins of a 7-2 team that had just lost consecutive games and would face hands-down the best team in the league the following week. Getting a road win in the NFL is never easy, and doing so in place of a future Hall of Famer, trying to stop a losing skid in the meantime, makes that task that much more difficult. Throw in the fact that his first start was against the head coach who drafted him and Osweiler had more than his fair share of pressure on Sunday.
His numbers may have been pedestrian by modern NFL quarterbacking standards – 20-for-27 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions – but Osweiler handled the immensity of the situation with poise and confidence. No interceptions was the biggest key to the game, as Denver played their first turnover-free game of 2015. Yes, Osweiler struggled to put points on the board and took too many three-and-outs, but his first start as a Bronco has to rank among some of the best since the turn of the century.