Dud(s) No. 3 – The Offensive Line
There’s no doubt that Peyton Manning – playing injured and fighting the ravages of age in a young man’s game – was downright dreadful on Sunday. But Manning shouldn’t be forced to shoulder the blame for the entire meltdown at Mile High.
Most of Denver’s offensive woes begin and end with an offensive line that has still failed to jell through 10 weeks. Just when we thought they were starting to come into form after strong performances against Cleveland and Green Bay, they were exposed against the better pass rush of Indianapolis and downright abused by a dominant KC line.
According to Pro Football Focus, they registered a terrible -14.9 overall run/screen/pass block rating on the day as a unit. Only Manning’s individual -11.7 was more startling.
The big uglies generated just 51 yards on the ground for Broncos running backs on Sunday and it seemed like every Broncos passing play ended with Greg Gumbel using phrases like, “…under pressure,” or “… hit as he throws.” That went for the time Brock Osweiler was on the field, as well.
Official team stats had Broncos QBs sacked five times and hurried nine times.
