On Sunday night, the Denver Broncos dispatched of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and the New England Patriots with a thrilling, 30-24 overtime win. Okay; perhaps “dispatched of” is a bit of an overstatement. The Broncos handed the previously unbeaten Patriots their first loss of the 2015 season thanks to late-game heroics on both sides of the ball.
No play was bigger in deciding the outcome than Darian Stewart‘s hit on Rob Gronkowski late in the fourth quarter. The shot to the legs of the outstretched Gronkowski sidelined the tight end for the remainder of the game, including overtime. Brady said after the game the hit was clean (much to the chagrin of New Englanders everywhere), but it’s impact was monumental. Without Gronk, the Patriots tied the game with a long field goal on their final possession (a touchdown would have won the game), but they went three-and-out in their first possession of overtime. C.J. Anderson sealed the Pats’ fate on the Broncos’ first drive in the extra frame.
Prior to exiting the game, Gronkowski had pulled down six receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown. This year, Gronkowski ranks second among all tight ends in touchdowns scored and tops for receiving yards. Nullifying New England’s biggest offensive weapon in the waning moments of the game was no doubt critical to Denver’s upset win.
At 9-2, Denver needs to run the table through the final five games and get some help if they are to catch the 10-1 Patriots and secure home-field advantage in the playoffs. In their remaining five games, Denver faces similar offensive threats, some in the form of a quarterback-tight end combo, others of the more traditional quarterback-wide receiver variety. Stopping those combinations will be paramount to a clean finish to the regular season.
In this week’s “Power Rankings,” we examine the top remaining offensive threats that could derail a 5-0 finish.
No. 5 – Philip Rivers & Antonio Gates
Philip Rivers and the Chargers finally hit the three-win plateau on Sunday with a 31-25 road win over Jacksonville (4-7).
2015 has been a forgettable year for Rivers, who has had passing totals as low as 178 and as high as 503 yards – both in losses. Rivers has been without his primary wide receiver target, Keenan Allen, who suffered a lacerated kidney against Baltimore in Week 8.
Despite the injury, Allen still leads San Diego in receiving yards on the year with 725. Three games and a bye later and the next closest Charger in receiving yards is actually a running back, Danny Woodhead, with 569. It’s lean times for pass-catchers in San Diego.
Steve Johnson was Rivers’ main target in the Week 12 win at Jacksonville, pulling in seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, but Antonio Gates was the primary target in the red zone. Despite a hip injury, Gates pulled down two touchdowns on six targets.
Rivers and Gates have been efficient this year, and even though San Diego is without Allen, they can still spread the field with Johnson, Malcolm Floyd and tight end Ladarius Green, not to mention Woodhead out of the backfield. New England showed last week that Denver can be vulnerable with linebackers in coverage, as Von Miller and Danny Trevathan both allowed touchdowns.
A hobbled Gates should be much easier to contain than Gronkowski, so if Denver can keep San Diego out of the red zone, they should have no problem holding the Chargers below 20 points in both meetings, Week 13 at San Diego and Week 17 in Denver.
No. 4 – Derek Carr & Amari Cooper
Losers of three of their last four games, the Raiders have cooled off of late. In a loss to the dreadful Lions two weeks ago, Derek Carr was held to just 164 yards passing. He rebounded last week to go for 330 and three touchdowns in a win against Tennessee, although none of those went to his leading receiver, Amari Cooper.
Cooper has been held scoreless over the past three games and made just one catch for four yards against Detroit. He rebounded with 115 yards against the Titans, his first 100-yard game since Week 7. Against Denver in Week 5, he was held to 47 yards on four catches.
Cooper benefits from having Michael Crabtree opposite him, but the Broncos were mostly able to nullify their dual threat with the combination of Chris Harris and Aqib Talib earlier this year. Together, Cooper and Crabtree accounted for 101 yards, but were kept out of the end zone in the 16-10 Broncos victory. Even if T.J. Ward is not ready in two weeks for this matchup, Denver should have both Omar Bolden and David Bruton available in the secondary to provide additional air defense against Cooper and Crabtree.
Excluding his off week against the Lions, Carr has thrown for 300-plus yards and at least to touchdowns in four of the past five games. He threw for four TDs against both Pittsburgh and the Jets and three against Tennessee. Each of those defenses pales in comparison to Denver’s, but the Broncos continue to battle injuries.
Will Ward, DeMarcus Ware and Sylvester Williams be healthy in two weeks? Can Denver avoid other injuries on defense? Keeping Harris and Talib healthy will be critical to containing Carr and Cooper, not to mention Crabtree, when this Week 14 matchup rolls around.
No. 3 – Philip Rivers & Danny Woodhead
It’s either impressive, or depressing, that the No. 1 active receiver for the San Diego Chargers is a running back. After losing Keenan Allen in Week 8, Danny Woodhead has quietly crept up the Chargers’ receiving yards chart.
Immediately following the loss of Allen, Woodhead was targeted 10 times out of the backfield in a Week 9 loss to the Bears. In six of his last seven games, he’s had as many or more targets out of the backfield than he had carries.
The biggest weakness (if you can call it that) of what is widely considered one of the best all-around defenses in the NFL has been when quarterbacks have exploited Denver’s aggressive pass rush with check-downs to tight ends and running backs.
With 19 career starts against Denver, no quarterback in the league should be as familiar with the Broncos as Rivers. So if there’s anyone who should be able to read the Denver defense and exploit its biggest soft spot, it should be Rivers. He’s also had a penchant for being a last-season thorn in the side of fans at Sports Authority Field, where has won three of his five games since 2010.
A Week 17 matchup could still have major implications for the Broncos if both they and New England run the table through until that point. Denver can’t afford to stub their toe in the final home game, especially if a No. 1 seed (or even a No. 2 seed based on what happens with Cincinnati the week prior) is on the line. Containing a Rivers-to-Woodhead connection will be key in the regular season finale.
No. 2 – Ben Roethlisberger & Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown has continued his All-Pro caliber play, piling up 1,192 yards in 11 games this year. He’s second in the league to Atlanta’s Julio Jones in receiving yards. Perhaps the most promising thing about his season this year, as far as the Broncos defense is concerned, is that he’s been held under 100 yards on five occasions, despite averaging 108.4 yards per game.
Last week Seattle held him to 51 yards and six catches on 12 targets. Denver will need the same effort from Chris Harris, who should draw the matchup with the speedy, 5-foot-10 Brown. Expect the Denver safeties to provide lots of help over the top as well.
Injuries have slowed Ben Roethlisberger this year, and continue to do so late into the season. Big Ben left Sunday’s game against Seattle with a head injury and is questionable this week against the Colts. But he has three weeks to get healthy before a Dec. 20 meeting with the Broncos. Sitting at 6-5 and battling Indianapolis (and Houston, Kansas City and the Jets) for a Wild Card spot, every game is an important one for Pittsburgh at this point. They get no relief with Indy this week, followed by Cincinnati and then Denver.
Mike Brown has had success with his backups, Michael Vick and Landry Jones, who are 3-2 in relief of Roethlisberger. Still, if he can clear concussion protocol, expect Big Ben to play against the Colts in a must-win game. Denver will be hoping for a rough-and-tumble game between the Steelers and Bengals in Week 14, as they play both teams in the two weeks that follow.
Regardless of who is throwing him the ball, whether it be Roethlisberger, Vick or Jones, Denver must find a way to contain Brown, especially in Pittsburgh, to avoid a stumble in Week 15.
No. 1 – Andy Dalton & Tyler Eifert
As if having to contain Antonio Brown in Week 15 won’t be a tough-enough task, Denver has to turn around the following week and try and stop another of the AFC’s most lethal wideouts, A.J. Green. Green’s reception and yards totals are right on par (by his Pro Bowl standards) this year, averaging over 80 yards per game and 14 yards per reception. But he’s not even the most dangerous weapon in Andy Dalton’s arsenal this year. That nod goes to tight end Tyler Eifert, who so far has looked like the second-coming of Rob Gronkowski.
Through 11 games, Eifert has 12 touchdowns and is on pace to break or tie Gronkowski’s record of 17 touchdown receptions by a tight end. Few teams have had an answer for Eifert who has 46 receptions for 522 yards. Even stout defenses like Seattle and Arizona have surrendered multiple touchdowns to Eifert. Denver neutralized Travis Kelce in their two meetings with Kansas City, keeping him out of the end zone, and limited Gronkowski to just one touchdown on a play that had two missed tackles by Broncos safeties. The same effort (or better) will be required on Monday Night Football in Week 16.
Denver faces San Diego, Oakland and Pittsburgh between now and then. Cincinnati has Cleveland, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. Barring a stumble, the Broncos and Bengals will likely be fighting for the No. 2 seed when this game rolls around.
Between Green and Eifert, Denver will have its toughest test of the season. The defense has made a habit of showing up big in big moments, and this game should be the biggest since the New England Patriots came to town without a loss in Week 12.