The Denver Broncos battled the Carolina Panthers this afternoon in their Week 9 matchup. It was a back-and-forth game between the two teams that came down to the final of quarter of play to find a winner. In the end, the Broncos came out on top registering another comeback victory to move to 7-2 on the season. Here are some instant reactions from today’s game.
Broncos’ offense ignites in fourth quarter to seal the deal
For the entire first half of the season struggling on offense, the Broncos had an opportunity to shine against the Panthers. Carolina entered
today’s matchup sporting a bottom 5 run defense, a bad third down defense, and the second-worst red zone defense in the NFL. After scoring 10 first quarter points against the Panthers, things looked up for Denver’s offense.
They dominated first half time of possession and notched 15 first downs and 159 yards of total offense. Unfortunately, a Bo Nix interception in enemy territory proved to be a big momentum change in the game. In addition to that, Denver’s interior offensive line was manhandled in the first two quarters. Ben Powers and Luke Wattenberg struggled with Lee Hunter and Derrick Brown and Denver gained just 34 yards on the ground in the first half.
The Broncos’ offense wasn’t on the field much in the third quarter. But as usual, four quarter heroics once again came into focus. Denver was able to carve out two scoring drives. The first was a 17-play drive that went 80 yards and was capped off with a Jonah Coleman touchdown run. On their next possession, Nix was able to hit Pat Bryant on a beautiful 26-yard touchdown throw.
The touchdowns were great, but it was awesome to see Nix and the offense perform well on third down. They had a lot of big drive-sustaining conversions that made the final touchdowns possible. But that pitch to Coleman late in the game that could have cost Denver the win? Oof. That certainly raised the collective blood pressure of Broncos Country.
I was hoping for more effectiveness in the ground game, but I’m happy to see Denver’s offense come together in the fourth quarter and ignite to lead the Broncos to victory. Their success was a big part of why they were able to get their fifth-straight victory of the season. Well done, offense!
Beat up Broncos’ defense struggles, but does enough to hold off Panthers’ offense
The Broncos entered today’s matchup with several key starters out on defense. The starting safety tandem of Brandon Jones and Talanoa Hufanga were out, making Devon Key and J.L. Skinner the next men up. Defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike was also inactive after being placed on injured reserve.
To make things worse, Riley Moss exited the game in the second quarter after suffering a concussion. Down four starters, Bryce Young and the Panthers’ offense was able to gain some steam and have success. Carolina reeled off back-to-back touchdown drives at the end of the first half and the start of the second half to take a 14 to 13 lead in the third quarter.
Whether it was the pass or the run, Vance Joseph’s defense couldn’t find a way to get them off the field. Young had an impressive streak of fifteen-straight completed passes. A big issue all game long was the absence of a formidable pass rush which was quite a bit of a surprise.
The Panthers entered today’s matchup allowing 23 sacks. Denver wasn’t able to take down Young until halfway through the four quarter when Jonathon Cooper came up big on third down and finally brought the fourth-year signal caller down.
The defense had two big plays that saved their poor play throughout the contest. The first was when Key was able to intercept a pass in the endzone that bounced off Tommy Tremble’s right arm. To end the game, Nik Bonitto was able to strip sack Young in the final minutes of play to seal the deal for the Broncos.
I’ll say this though, Denver giving up so many third-and-long plays, even with the injuries, was extremely concerning. I thought Joseph’s conservative playcalling late in the game was perplexing. The defense will have a lot of reflection to do over the bye week to rectify some of the issues we have seen recently, but I’m happy they were able to close the game out with a big turnover.
Broncos enter bye week with momentum and a 7-2 record
It’s incredibly hard to get a read on who this year’s Broncos are. However, they just keep finding ways to win. Today’s victory over the Panthers is their fifth in a row. They still maintain the AFC West lead with their victory today and hold their place as the second seed in the AFC’s tough playoff race. All things considered, the bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s time for Denver to recalibrate, regroup, and find a way to fix their issues in the second half of the season.
