The Denver Broncos battled the Los Angeles Rams under the bright lights of Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday Night Football. It was an epic back and forth gridiron battle that came down to the final play of the game to find a victor. In the end, it was the Broncos who earned another comeback victory on the season defeating the Rams 30-26. Here are my instant reactions from tonight’s primetime matchup.
Broncos’ Jekyll and Hyde offense strikes again
For the third straight week, Denver’s offense had an abysmal to start the game. The Broncos gained
just 67 yards in the first half and secured just five first downs. They managed to call just 21 plays, averaged a measly three yards per play, and had the ball for just ten minutes. That’s a recipe for failure.
Meanwhile, the Rams looked fantastic. They had 274 yards on offense in the first half on 47 plays and averaged six yards per play. Whether it was through the air or on the ground, they absolutely dominated. They won the time of possession battle having the ball for nearly twenty minutes.
It was an absolute masterclass effort by Sean McVay and his players. They outperformed Davis Webb and the Broncos’ offense through fifteen minutes on Sunday Night Football.
After some halftime adjustments, Denver’s offense seemed to find a rhythm in the third quarter. Operating with some more under center looks, Bo Nix and his teammates performed much better. The ground game was more successful on early downs, and Nix was able to hit a variety of receivers for big plays. Notching two quality scoring drives and two-point conversions, the Broncos were able to tie the Rams at 16 by the end of the third quarter.
Unfortunately, their third quarter success didn’t continue into the fourth until the last drive off the game. Edge rusher Dallas Turner was able to hit Nix’s arm and force a poor throw that resulted in an interception on the first outing of the quarter. On the subsequent drive, a third and short pass intended for Evan Engram was batted down by nickel corner Josh Watson.
Nix and the Broncos offense would get one last chance with under four minutes left to try and find a way to tie or win the game. On second and twenty, a 39-yard catch and run by Pat Bryant got Denver within scoring distance. With under a minute to go on third and goal, Nix jumped over Luke Wattenberg and extended the ball to break the plan and give the Broncos the lead.
Defense struggles early on with Rams’ heavy personnel and play action, performs much better in second half
With the Broncos’ offense struggling to get going, that put enormous pressure on the defense. Truth be told, holding them to just sixteen points all things considered wasn’t terrible. Though it’s safe to say there were a handful of issues on display throughout the evening.
After a rebound performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, inside linebacker Alex Singleton had another poor outing. He was routinely picked on by quarterback Matthew Stafford in pass coverage and had multiple missed tackles on Kyren Williams. Even All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II didn’t have a great start to the night going up against future Hall of Famer Davante Adams.
In the second half, Vance Joseph’s defense made some good adjustments. They dialed up the heat on Stafford and for the most part played a lot better. They had a few issues, mainly Riley Moss getting caught peeking in coverage and giving up a big touchdown. However, safety Talanoa Hufanga’s pix-six on Stafford was a game-changing play the Broncos’ defense desperately needed. Hufanga also had the game-sealing interception on the last play of the game.
What a statement victory for the Broncos!
Whew! Week 3 had its fair share of one-score games. It was a fantastic weekend of football, but this Broncos win over the Rams is the icing on the cake. Early on, it looked like a sure-fire loss with nothing going well for the team. Kudos to the coaching staff and players for never giving up and making the right changes at halftime to gut out another incredible victory.
Can you believe it, Broncos Country? Magic strikes twice for the second week in a row. Denver is now 2-1 on the season heading into next week’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. This game should give them a lot of confidence going up a well-coached Kyle Shanahan squad.
