Broncos looking to avoid trap game in Tampa Bay

Heading into Sunday’s road match up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Denver Broncos are riding a three-game winning streak in defense of a Super Bowl title.

Not to mention, Trevor Siemian is the latest AFC Offensive Player of the Week, having thrown for an NFL record 300-plus yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in his first road start.

On the other sideline, the Buccaneers are coming off two straight losses, one at home, 37-32, against the Los Angeles Rams and a road beating at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals, 40-7.

And with Jameis Winston and the Bucs offensive able to put up points, 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis said this Week 4 matchup for Denver has all the makings of a trap game.

“I think even though the Broncos’ strength is pass defense, with all their rush and with their cover corners, I still think Tampa Bay is going to do what they do best, and that’s Jameis Winston and Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans,” Klis told “C.J. and Stokley” Wednesday.

Through three games this season, Winston’s thrown for the sixth-most yards per game (309.7) on the most passing attempts (142) in the league.

And “C.J. and Stokley” co-host Brandon Stokley said that it’s Winston’s ability to sling it, and keep slinging it, that could spell upset for the Broncos.

“If you go down there and you just think, ‘You know what? It’s just Tampa. It’s going to be an easy win for us.’ You’ve got another thing coming because they’ll be ready to play football,” Stokley said.

“They’ve got a quarterback that can play. This young kid can make all the throws. He’s a competitor. So you’ve got to go down there with your mind right or you’ll come back with a loss.”

But Stokley said, even with all the makings of a trap game, he believes Denver has the coaching staff and the defense prevent what would likely happen to a lesser team.

“They haven’t lost a step from last year at all. With any other group but this group, I would be really concerned this week,” Stokley said.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak addressed the “trap game” question Wednesday, saying every game in an NFL season is a trap, and every team they play is good enough to pull of a victory on Sunday.

“There are 16 traps in the NFL. If you don’t play well, you get trapped,” Kubiak said. “It’s Week 4. We’re focused on playing well again. We know we’ll have to play very good to win the game, so we restart every week and get ready to play. We respect everybody.”