Denver Broncos vs New Orleans Saints Recap and Drive Stats

 This is not going to be the regular recap and drive stats.  This game was not a regular game.  This was in effect a travesty.  The Broncos were informed late Saturday that their entire QB room would be ineligible to play after video came to light of them having masks down for some parts of a meeting on Wednesday.  The Broncos had discovered this during a review of some video of the meting, and provided the information to the league.  With how late the league got the info, the Broncos had asked if the game could be postponed.  But the request went unheard, and Denver had to send out Practice Squad WR Kendall Hinton, who had played QB at Wake Forest for two years.  As the drive chart below will suggest, it did not go well at all.  The one positive was how well the defense played most of the game, getting after Taysom Hill and just overall holding the Saints at bay as best they could. 

The NFL should be ashamed for having this game played.  I understand that the Broncos QBs broke the rules.  I understand that the league has protocols and that they are trying to keep players safe.  But making a team play without a QB on the roster is very dangerous for him and the players around him.  Throws were inaccurate, players weren't used to mesh points and overall it just lead to opportunities for players to be in bad spots.  The decision not to postpone also seems to fly in the face of the the league moving the Patriots Broncos game earlier this year despite no sign of an outbreak, and the Ravens getting their games postponed again and again, along with the Titans earlier getting a game moved.  This game was the league deciding to hammer a team that they felt they could to prove a point about needing to follow the rules to the letter.  Their actions with other teams though makes it feel like the rules only apply to teams they arent trying to actively market.  As Dave Logan noted, this game also presents a huge issue for the league's competitive balance.  It essentially gave the Saints a win in what is going to be a very tight race in the NFC for the #1 seed, and the only bye this postseason.  Overall, the NFL just made a terrible choice.  They should have moved the game to Monday or Tuesday, giving the Broncos a chance.  Denver already dealt with this by having to reschedule games, and other teams have doen it as well.  It would have kept competitive balance, shown that following the rules and actively reporting potential cases is the right thing to do, and it promotes player safety.  

DEN	NO	75	1	Punt	22	29.3	5
NO	DEN	80	1	Punt	0	0.0	6
DEN	NO	62	1	Punt	-2	-3.2	3
NO	DEN	72	1	Punt	0	0.0	3
DEN	NO	85	1	Punt	6	7.1	3
NO	DEN	74	1	Touchdown	74	100.0	15
DEN	NO	75	2	Punt	1	1.3	3
NO	DEN	73	2	Punt	11	15.1	5
DEN	NO	75	2	Punt	-1	-1.3	3
NO	DEN	66	2	Punt	-8	-12.1	4
DEN	NO	64	2	Turnover	3	4.7	3
NO	DEN	13	2	Touchdown	13	100.0	5
DEN	NO	75	2	Turnover	2	2.7	3
NO	DEN	41	2	Field goal	19	46.3	3
NO	DEN	75	3	Punt	1	1.3	4
DEN	NO	77	3	Turnover	21	27.3	5
NO	DEN	50	3	Turnover	-2	-4.0	3
DEN	NO	40	3	Field goal	1	2.5	3
NO	DEN	82	3	Touchdown	82	100.0	8
DEN	NO	75	3	Punt	9	12.0	7
NO	DEN	77	4	Touchdown	77	100.0	13
DEN	NO	75	4	Punt	15	20.0	4
NO	DEN	79	4	Punt	6	7.6	3
DEN	NO	76	4	End of half	24	31.6	3

NFL Havoc and Success Rates through Week 11

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Not much to add this week, as the short Holiday week gives us the Lions and Texans along with Washington and Dallas.  The big question will be if the Ravens can make any noise against the Steelers in the postponed game minus most of the backfield. 

 

 

Denver Broncos vs Miami Dolphins Drive Stats and Recap

For what felt like the first time in ages, the Broncos played a complete game.  It started rocky as Drew Lock once again forced a pass that got picked off, but he settled in from then on, completing 75% of his passes for the rest of the game.  He looked sharp and attacked the defense across levels.  It helped him a lot that the running game got going, averaging 5.7 yards per attempt.  It should be no surprise as this was the first time since week 6 that Phillip Lindsay got double digit carries.  The defense got in on the play as well, giving Tua the worst game of his young career.  Miami gained only 33% of their potential yards, and Denver sacked Tua six times.  Only four drives gained more than 50% of their total yards, and one was the ultra short field on the Drew Lock interception. 

Things weren't perfect for Denver and Lock.  But this game could be that building stone.  It was interesting that the offense looked much more like the one last year that had Drew Lock looking comfortable and giving the glimpse of  him becoming the guy in Denver.  It gives some hope that Pat Shurmur is adapting his offense to fit the pieces Denver has better.

Offense	Defense	Start Line	Quarter	Result	Yards Gained	Potential Gained	Play Count
MIA	DEN	75	1	Punt	4	5.3	3
DEN	MIA	80	1	Turnover	0	0.0	4
MIA	DEN	22	1	Touchdown	22	100.0	6
DEN	MIA	75	1	Punt	1	1.3	3
MIA	DEN	74	1	Punt	4	5.4	3
DEN	MIA	73	1	Touchdown	73	100.0	13
MIA	DEN	75	1	Punt	5	6.7	3
DEN	MIA	72	1	Punt	9	12.5	3
MIA	DEN	83	2	Punt	0	0.0	3
DEN	MIA	59	2	Field goal	48	81.4	4
MIA	DEN	75	2	Field goal	52	69.3	13
DEN	MIA	89	2	Field goal	60	67.4	10
DEN	MIA	75	3	Turnover on downs	61	81.3	10
MIA	DEN	86	3	Punt	3	3.5	3
DEN	MIA	81	3	Touchdown	81	100.0	10
MIA	DEN	75	3	Punt	15	20.0	11
DEN	MIA	82	4	Punt	5	6.1	3
MIA	DEN	79	4	Field goal	44	55.7	7
DEN	MIA	75	4	Turnover	74	98.7	7
MIA	DEN	99	4	Turnover	84	84.8	14
DEN	MIA	80	4	End of half	57	71.3	8