There is a game plan for offensive success
It’s easy to call the Broncos offense bad, and at face value, you’d be correct. The reality, though, is that the Broncos offense simply isn’t consistent.
We’ve seen greatness from Denver. We’ve seen Brock Osweiler light up the Steelers in the first half, we’ve seen Peyton Manning lead Denver over the Packers and we’ve seen the running game carry the Broncos to victory. We just haven seen it for more than a few quarters at a time.
Just think, how would we be talking about this Denver offense if they had kept up their first-half pace for the full game against the Raiders and Steelers? How different would the score have looked if the Broncos didn’t have four turnovers in the first half against the Chargers in Week 17?
They’re close, real close, and if they can put it together for four straight quarters (hopefully eight more, too), then there might be something special in store with this unit.
And it all starts with the run game. The Broncos have to rely on Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson, taking pressure off Peyton Manning and draining precious seconds off the clock. As I wrote yesterday, Denver completely abandoned the run game in Pittsburgh last time around, leading to nine second-half drives that lasted no longer than 2:05; that’s not a recipe for success, especially when you’re trying to hold onto a 14-point lead.
More importantly, the Broncos have the perfect man for the job.
While a lot of questions swirled around C.J. Anderson’s performance through the first few weeks of the season, he’s been back to the old C.J. for awhile now. In fact, since the Broncos’ bye in Week 7, Anderson has averaged 6.35 yards per carry and rushed for six touchdowns. The problem is that Gary Kubiak has never given him more than 15 carries.
Get Anderson the ball and everything else will fall into place.
