The Denver Broncos have a crazy quick turnaround just one week into the 2015 season.
On the one hand, playing at Kansas City Thursday night is a good thing. First, it gets the annual Arrowhead game out of the way early. Forecasts have it at about 80 degrees around kickoff which is a lot better than eight degrees in December. Second, each NFL team has to play on Thursday night once a year. The Broncos also knock that commitment out of the way early.
On the downside, the Broncos just got their butts kicked 48 hours ago by the Ravens. No, they didn’t lose the game, but in a very physical affair eight different Denver players ended up on the Monday injury report. Fortunately, none of them appear to be serious, but that’s a lot of guys dinged up.
But so is life in the NFL. The Broncos must show up ready to play Thursday night in Kansas City. It’s a game that sets the tone for the AFC West the entire year. It’s bigger than anyone seemingly realizes. The team needs to perform well, but these three guys in particular are on the hot seat in Week 2.
No. 3 — C.J. Anderson
C.J. Anderson = Montee Ball 2.0? Ronnie Hillman looks good…
— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) September 13, 2015
That’s a harsh comparison after just one week, but Anderson was very pedestrian against Baltimore making a lot of fantasy owners mad and Denver fans nervous. Anderson managed just 29 yards on 12 carries and couldn’t find any holes. For a guy who acted like a Hall of Famer all offseason, he better get it together soon.
No. 2 — Evan Mathis
.@EvanMathis69 had some choice words Monday afternoon … for himself.
VIDEO http://t.co/Au6uvdWoRZ pic.twitter.com/7aNRjZ64JY
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 15, 2015
Mathis was not happy about his performance Monday afternoon when he met with the media. “I think that I was the worst of the group,” Mathis said to a scrum of reporters at his locker. Pro Football Focus backed that notion up, dinging Mathis with a negative 3.3 grade. He needs to prove he was worth the chance Denver took on him.
No. 1 — Peyton Manning
https://twitter.com/DanWetzel/status/643233562502631424
Ouch. That wasn’t very nice. But Wetzel has a point, Manning does look old. The Colts playoff loss and the Ravens game on Sunday played out eerily similar. Manning was under pressure, made some bad decisions, took sacks and overthrew Emmanuel Sanders on a couple of different sure touchdowns. Play poorly against Kansas City and the calls for Brock Osweiler, no matter how ridiculous they are, will only grow louder.