Coming off an impressive comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Denver Broncos earned a much-needed confidence boost heading into their matchup versus the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football. Here are three storylines for Broncos Country to keep a close eye on in Denver’s Week 3 primetime game hosting the Rams.
Will Jaylen Waddle have another impact game and shine in primetime?
One of the highlights in their victory over the Jaguars was how dominant wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was. After being virtually shut down in Week 1 against the Kansas City
Chiefs, Waddle had a tremendous impact last Sunday and was the highlight player for the Broncos offensively.
He reeled in eight receptions on ten targets for 138 yards. Offensive Coordinator Davis Webb did a great job utilizing Waddle in a variety of manners from the slot to ‘Z’. I felt Webb was fantastic isolating him in mismatch scenarios against a tough Jaguars defense.
How the Broncos choose to deploy Waddle on a weekly basis will certainly be one of the most intriguing aspects of the season. The Rams spent a lot of money this offseason revamping their secondary via free agency additions or making big trades. It’ll be interesting to see how Denver comes up with a gameplan to attack that. For the second straight week, my money is on Waddle playing a big role for the Broncos’ offense.
Can Bo Nix pick up where he left off against the Jaguars?
Head Coach Sean Payton called the Broncos’ affair against the Jaguars a tale of two halves. The offense struggled in the first quarter of the game. Through fifteen minutes of play, all three of their drives resulted in punts. Denver didn’t achieve a second down until the second quarter and only netted three points in two redzone trips before halftime.
In the second half, Nix seemed much more poised in the pocket. He put together another impressive fourth quarter rally which earned him yet another comeback victory. Webb’s half time adjustments played a big role in that. He helped set Nix up for success by getting him to throw on the move and having him get some more looks under center.
It will be important for Nix and the Broncos’ offense to start off hot and forego their slow starts. Nobody wants to see Denver have to try and rally back against a well-coached team that scored the most points in the NFL last season. I’m optimistic Nix can deliver, but the offensive line will have to give him a chance to make plays.
What’s the defensive plan to combat the Rams’ offense?
The Rams had an uncharacteristically bad game in their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Though they looked much better and reverted to top form against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
Stafford threw for over 300 yards and had four touchdowns. Keep in mind, that was without Puka Nacua—whose availability for Sunday Night Football is still up in the air. With Nacua out, Davante Adams went off and hauled in eight catches for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even with Denver’s talented secondary, Adams could prove to be a problem depending on who is tasked with covering him.
Additionally, their running back duo of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum combined for 164 yards rushing on just 24 carries. In addition to those players, the Rams also have a handful of intriguing players at tight end. Terrance Ferguson is an emerging player in their offense and looked good last week.
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph is going to have his hands full again this week coming up with another game plan to stop a talented and high-scoring Sean McVay offense. Even so, Broncos Country should be optimistic they can do that, especially given how well the group performed against the Jaguars last Sunday.
