BRONCOS

Broncos vs. Browns: Breaking down Denver’s game plan on Sunday

Nov 1, 2019, 3:07 PM

The Broncos suffered another painful, last-minute loss in Week 8. For the third time this season, a last-minute field goal by their opponent (this time the Colts) caused Denver to lose.

This week, the Broncos are back home, and they are hoping to get things back on track. However, there are new starters – specifically at quarterback – that make this upcoming game against the Browns far from a sure victory.

Let’s take a look at how the Broncos will attack the Browns on both sides of the ball.

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When the Broncos Run the Ball

The Broncos should run the ball a lot more with an inexperienced quarterback under center. Since Brandon Allen is the quarterback this week, expect to see as much of Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman as possible.

The team needs to work Lindsay as the primary back in order to get more big plays. He’s arguably the most-dangerous asset on the Broncos offense, yet Lindsay only has three carries for more than 11 yards all season long. That big-play portion of the ground game has been sorely missing from the offense in 2019.

Freeman is the banger for the Broncos who is asked to win collisions and wear defenses down, but a few more explosive plays would be nice. Freeman only has one carry for more than 15 yards so far after eight games.

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The Cleveland run defense has not been good this season. Ever since they lost linebacker Christian Kirksey to an injury, the Browns can’t stop the run. They have the 29th-ranked rush defense and allow an average of 143.3 rushing yards per game. In addition to giving up a large total, the Browns also have allowed 4.9 yards per carry to an opponent since Kirksey was lost to an injury.

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When the Broncos Pass the Ball

Will the Broncos run more bootlegs and rollout plays now that Allen is starting at quarterback and not Joe Flacco? The answer should be yes. While Flacco is more of a straight-dropback passer at this point in his career, Allen has good athleticism and works well when throwing on the run. Rolling out the quarterback is a way to help get Allen away from the Browns pass rush.

The team can give Allen easy reads as a rollout passer. They can essentially give him high-low reads anytime he is bootlegging.

This concept works just like it sounds – on a pass play with a bootleg there is one high route and one low route. A quarterback is taught to read high then read low and take off to run if both are covered. This is something Allen has been doing since his days in college.

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The Browns have a top-10 pass defense, currently ranked No. 7 in the NFL by allowing an average of 222.1 passing yards per game. Last week against the Patriots, the Browns pass defense saw the return of cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams. Ward is a smaller cornerback, but he’s fast and confident. Williams has the length to be problematic for big-bodied receivers like Courtland Sutton.

They have not allowed a 300-yard passing game all season, and against a quarterback making his first start ever (like Allen), it’s unlikely they allow over 300 in Week 9 against the Broncos.

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When the Browns Run the Ball

The Browns offense features one of the best running backs in the game with second-year pro Nick Chubb. He is currently the No. 3 rusher in the league with 738 rushing yards in 2019. Chubb is averaging a healthy 5.5 yards per carry and has the skill to score anytime he touches the ball. His longest rush of 88 yards is the longest in the NFL this season.

Needless to say, Chubb is the main weapon for the Broncos to shut down if they can. There is now a new problem for Chubb that Broncos could take advantage of on Sunday.

Last week against the Patriots, Chubb lost two key fumbles which gives him three fumbles in the last two games. He had not fumbled since his junior season in college at Georgia back in 2016. Now, it could be something the team focuses on.

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It’s been some time since the Broncos rush defense was embarrassed against Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette. They have not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Fournette gashed them for 225 yards, and the Broncos rush defense has not allowed a single rushing touchdown since Week 4.

The main move to improve the rush defense was the addition of defensive tackle Mike Purcell into the starting lineup. Purcell is a big-bodied run-stuffer who eats up space and is difficult to move on the inside. Linebacker A.J. Johnson has also helped out the Broncos rush defense. Purcell and Johnson will have their hands full this week with Chubb as the centerpiece of what the Browns do on offense.

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When the Browns Pass the Ball

The Browns want to see quarterback Baker Mayfield make better decisions the rest of the way this year as he’s having a bit of a sophomore slump in 2019. Opposing defenses are double-covering both Odell Beckham Jr and Jarvis Landry, thus taking away Mayfield’s top targets and forcing him to go through his progressions faster than he wants.

Discipline continues to be the issue for this team as the Browns lead the NFL in penalties and interceptions, and they are second to last in completion percentage.

The pressure is on Mayfield as he is no longer the league darling he was during his breakout rookie season. Earlier this week, Browns reporter Tony Grossi – known for being a rabble rouser – got Mayfield heated in a press conference where he walked out over a dumb and repetitive question.

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It’s pretty bad when most people are talking about a heated press conference instead of your play on the field. Mayfield has a ton of talent and he has quality weapons around him, but he does not have the same protection up front he did last year and that has forced his game to decline.

The Broncos pass defense features one of the best corners in the game with Chris Harris Jr. He will be covering Beckham, so other players in the passing game are likely to have to step up for the Browns. Watch out for their No. 3 receiver, Antonio Callaway, with his speed the Broncos secondary cannot match. Also, watch to see if one of their tight ends (Demetrius Harris?) breaks out with a good game against the Broncos.

Mayfield was sacked five times against the Patriots and is going to get a similar level of pressure this week against the Broncos. Expect Von Miller to get after the right side of the Browns offensive line in what could be a big game for the superstar pass-rusher. Miller fell short on one play against the Colts and could take his frustrations out on a Browns o-line tasked with blocking him.

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Summary

The Broncos really need this win before the bye week. Things have been spiraling downhill this season, so a bit of positivity before the break would be great. We know that Drew Lock will soon be starting for this team, but in the meantime, we’ll have to see what Allen can do with the first real opportunity he’s ever received in the NFL.

I believe this is a game the Broncos can win. I’ve been fooled plenty of times before this season, but on paper – even with a quarterback making his first-ever start in the NFL – I feel the Broncos have what it takes to come out on top.

The defense will do their thing and I believe make it a long day for Mayfield. This comes down to the play-calling and rhythm that Rich Scangarello does or does not get the offense into. If the offense can score more than 16 points, this team can win at home.

I’ve got the Broncos on top by a score of 20-13 on Sunday.

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All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via email from the Denver Broncos unless otherwise noted. Game screenshots from NFL Game Pass. Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac.com. Transaction history provided by ProSportsTransactions.com.

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