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3 keys to victory: Broncos vs. Texans on Monday Night Football

Oct 24, 2016, 3:18 PM | Updated: 3:29 pm

The Denver Broncos have dropped two games in a row, and it’s time for them to get back on the winning track. Up next, they take on the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football.

With the Texans coming to town, the Broncos will face a familiar opponent in quarterback Brock Osweiler.

The former Broncos quarterback would love nothing more than to blemish the Broncos record further. And last week, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said he wants to stop that losing streak at two.

“The last couple of weeks we did not play well enough to win. We have to give Atlanta and San Diego credit, and now we’re facing a really good team, a first place team,” Kubiak said. “We’re going to have to play much better.”

What are the keys to victory? Take a look:

Jumpstart the ground game

The Broncos need to get its rushing game on track. Running back C.J. Anderson will now likely see touches out of the backfield split more evenly with rookie Devontae Booker. Anderson has better balance and vision, but Booker is quicker to and through the crease up front.

We’ll see if this is a near 50-50 split for the Broncos duo against the Texans, as that may be their best recipe for success.

Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison wants to see improvement from multiple players.

“I want to see from everybody involved a better effort, a better job running the ball,” Dennison said. “It’s nobody in particular. Everybody has to do their job better.”

The offensive line needs to open up more holes for the rushing attack. They also could use outside runs to help open up the cutback lanes, which have not been materializing in recent weeks.

What’s been the problem with the ground game? It’s play calling and execution that has let the Broncos down. Expect that to change on Monday night.

Don’t let role players beat them

The Texans have star power on both sides of the ball, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He’s Osweiler’s favorite target, and Hopkins can make difficult catches seem routine.

Even when he’s not open he’s open. Hopkins is known as a bad-ball receiver and doesn’t need much space to haul in a contested catch.

Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby said this week that has a ton of respect for Hopkins.

“He attracts a lot of attention. He is a great receiver and a great ball-in-the-air threat. He’s one of the top receivers in the league,” Roby said.

Hopkins should be handled in the same way the Broncos took care of superstar Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones. We should see Hopkins shut down by the Broncos secondary, so other targets in the Texans passing game will have to be utilized.

Texans rookie wide receiver Will Fuller has plenty of speed, and he’s going to be tasked with taking the top off the defense. He’s been bothered by a hamstring injury but is on track to play, according to Texans head coach Bill O’Brien.

It would only take one play for Fuller to flip the field. The Broncos need to be cautious with the speedy rookie.

Like the Falcons, the Texans could utilize their running backs as receivers out of the backfield to attack the Broncos linebackers in coverage. Lamar Miller is the team’s starter, and he has a skill set reminiscent of former Broncos back Clinton Portis.

Miller is a bit more powerful than Portis, and he has the speed to create mismatches in space. If the Texans use more of power back Alfred Blue to soften up the middle of the defense, Miller could be featured as a receiver out of the backfield.

Finally, tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz must not beat the Broncos with key catches to move the chains on third down. The Broncos should get after Osweiler early and often. Thus, shorter routes will be his escape route when dropping back to pass.

Broncos linebackers Todd Davis and Brandon Marshall have been struggling in coverage, and a big-bodied tight end like Fiedorowicz could prove to be a problem. He’s not a fast player, but he does run good routes and has the size to make it difficult when he ‘boxes out’ smaller opponents.

Get off to a better start

The Broncos passing game could have some success on Monday night, and it would help if it got off to a better start.

The Broncos have been coming out with the passing game as the highlighted portion of their game plan to begin games all season long. However, in recent games the team hasn’t been getting the production from the passing attack they need.

If they’re going to pass on first down, then they need to have sustained success to put them in better down-and-distance situations.

Kubiak said last week that he can’t pin down why the team has recently been struggling on first down.

“We were really good on first down for about three weeks into the season. I think we were top four or five teams in first down plays. Now all of a sudden you go two or three weeks and you go to the bottom,” Kubiak said. “That’s a big down in this league. If not, you’re probably not making third downs and those are kind of hand-in-hand, but we have to find a way to get more plays.

“Like I say, if you’ re not making first downs and staying on the field, then you’re going to get out of whack. We have to just be better with our time and what we’re getting. Obviously we need to get some more time early in the games to do something with it so those things go hand-in-hand.”

Screen passes should be used a lot more in this game. The Texans love to get after the quarterback with edge-rushers JaDeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus. The best way to slow them down is by utilizing screen passes and draw plays.

Using the tight end more would also help. In the Broncos last game against the San Diego Chargers, starting tight end Virgil Green only saw four passes come his way even though he played 56 snaps. Green ended that game with three catches for 21 yards, and that’s simply not enough.

A good tight end (like Green) can be a security blanket for a young quarterback like Trevor Siemian. Using more of Green, and more screen passes, could help Siemian be more efficient as a passer on Monday night.

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3 keys to victory: Broncos vs. Texans on Monday Night Football