Denver Bronocs vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Recap

 The Broncos continued their struggles this past weekend, as Jeff Driskel showed he was not the answer until Drew Lock returns.  The offense had 8 of their 11 drives gain less than half of their potential yards, which is pretty terrible.  Not one player really stood out for good play, as Noah Fant dropped a couple of must have passes and nothing got going. There also is some disappointment with the relatively little use of KJ Hamler, despite his playing nearly every snap (5 targets, 1 rush). 

On defense, 6 of the 11 drives for the Bucs gained fewer than half of their potential yards which is not bad.  However the defense continued to be eaten up by crossing routes with Tom Brady consistently able to find TEs and Chris Godwin open against Jewell and Johnson.  Justin Simmons also had a fall back this week, with some tough assignments and a really bad looking at attempt at man coverage with Mike Evans in the endzone.  The big brightspot this week had to be Shelby Harris, who continues to be a disruptive player on an ailing front.

Offense	Defense	Start Line	Quarter	Result	Yards Gained	Potential Gained	Play Count
DEN	TB	75	1	Punt	18	24	7
TB	DEN	10	1	Touchdown	10	100	3
DEN	TB	75	1	Punt	-1	-1.333333	3
TB	DEN	72	1	Punt	20	27.777778	6
DEN	TB	84	1	Punt	2	2.380952	3
TB	DEN	54	1	Field goal	30	55.555556	11
DEN	TB	75	1	Field goal	37	49.333333	6
TB	DEN	75	2	Touchdown	75	100	12
DEN	TB	75	2	Punt	-5	-6.666667	3
TB	DEN	56	2	Touchdown	56	100	6
DEN	TB	75	2	Touchdown	75	100	10
TB	DEN	75	3	Punt	26	34.666667	6
DEN	TB	92	3	Safety	-8	-8.695652	4
TB	DEN	75	3	Punt	18	24	5
DEN	TB	85	3	Punt	8	9.411765	3
TB	DEN	67	3	Punt	9	13.432836	4
DEN	TB	80	3	Turnover	25	31.25	6
TB	DEN	55	3	Field goal	38	69.090909	6
DEN	TB	75	4	Punt	6	8	6
TB	DEN	72	4	Punt	3	4.166667	5
DEN	TB	73	4	Turnover	60	82.191781	15
TB	DEN	71	4	End of half	27	38.028169	6

 

Denver Broncos vs Pittsburgh Steelers Recap

The Broncos continue to be bit by missed plays and injuries, as now they will be missing Drew Lock and Courtland Sutton for an extended period of time.  This game felt a lot like some Death by Inches, as just a few made plays here and there would have turned this game into a victory.

Both offenses struggled a bit to move against these defense, as Denver picked up 37.9% of their potential yards , and Pittsburgh garnered 38.6%.  Denver actually was a bit more consistent in picking up yards, with their median potential yards gained at 36% vs the Steelers, but the negative plays hurt the Broncos the most.  12 of their 75 plays went for negative gains, as opposed to just 7 for Pittsburgh.  A lot of this was on Jeff Driskel, but its also tough to expect a lot from the veteran backup in a shortened offseason and few reps during the week.

The bright for this weekend remained the defense.  They did not allow the Steelers to have a drive over 9 plays, which gave the offense more chances.  The run defense continued to be solid, allowing one big run by Conner but otherwise holding him to just over 3 yards per carry on his other runs.  The pass rush was missing though, with just a single sack and by my eye just a couple of pressures. Michael Ojemudia had a rough game as well filling in for AJ Bouye, but he also was close on several plays.  Hopefully Bouye can return soon and allow Ojemudia to not be forced to stick with a team's top receiver all game.

This next week Denver faces a familiar foe in a new place, and hopefully will have a bit better timing on offense with Driskell getting a whole week.

Offense	Defense	Start	Yards Gained	Result	Plays	Potential Yards	Percent Gained
Pittsburgh	Denver	23	8	Punt	3	77	10.38961039
Pittsburgh	Denver	41	59	Touchdown	9	59	100
Pittsburgh	Denver	17	-8	Punt	3	83	-9.638554217
Pittsburgh	Denver	22	32	Punt	8	78	41.02564103
Pittsburgh	Denver	16	84	Touchdown	1	84	100
Pittsburgh	Denver	48	-2	Punt	3	52	-3.846153846
Pittsburgh	Denver	89	8	Field Goal	4	11	72.72727273
Pittsburgh	Denver	35	-1	End of Half	1	65	-1.538461538
Pittsburgh	Denver	47	5	Interception	5	53	9.433962264
Pittsburgh	Denver	25	40	Downs	9	75	53.33333333
Pittsburgh	Denver	25	75	Touchdown	9	75	100
Pittsburgh	Denver	52	0	Fumble	1	48	0
Pittsburgh	Denver	25	15	Punt	4	75	20
Pittsburgh	Denver	26	67	End of Game	5	74	90.54054054
Denver	Pittsburgh	20	29	Punt	6	80	36.25
Denver	Pittsburgh	33	34	Fumble	6	67	50.74626866
Denver	Pittsburgh	20	28	Punt	5	80	35
Denver	Pittsburgh	64	5	Field Goal	5	36	13.88888889
Denver	Pittsburgh	11	15	Punt	6	89	16.85393258
Denver	Pittsburgh	25	35	Missed FG	5	75	46.66666667
Denver	Pittsburgh	20	0	Interception	1	80	0
Denver	Pittsburgh	25	7	Punt	4	75	9.333333333
Denver	Pittsburgh	59	31	Field Goal	10	41	75.6097561
Denver	Pittsburgh	35	65	Touchdown	6	65	100
Denver	Pittsburgh	13	-13	Safety	4	87	-14.94252874
Denver	Pittsburgh	46	54	Touchdown	6	54	100
Denver	Pittsburgh	18	56	Downs	11	82	68.29268293