As the Broncos defense over the past eight games has transformed into one of the NFL’s best, its faced all types of offenses.
The rugged, run-heavy Cleveland Browns. The magic of Patrick Mahomes, even this frustrated-by-poor-receivers version. The barely-bother-to-run Los Angeles Chargers.
Next up is perhaps the most difficult challenge since Denver gave up 70 points at Miami, a performance so terrible and so different from this group’s recent run that it feels more like three years ago rather than just less than three months ago. At the least, it’s a task on par with playing at Buffalo a month ago.
The Lions, powered by quarterback Jared Goff, a fleet of young, talented skill players and a big, physical offensive line and orchestrated by coordinator Ben Johnson, has a calling card: Balance.
“These guys obviously run the ball well, and have the ability to then go off play action or drop back,” Denver coach Sean Payton said Thursday. “It’s not just one thing.”
No indeed. The Lions check in seventh in passing yards per game (252.8), fifth in rushing (137.5) and are likewise in the top seven in both passing and rushing according to the efficiency metric estimated points added per play.
Goff has played the leading role well, throwing for 21 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He’s got one of the best young tight ends in football in rookie Sam LaPorta. A dynamic running back pair of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs and a receiving group led by Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Detroit’s also had one of the best offensive lines in football, anchored by right tackle Penei Sewell, though the group in recent weeks has dealt with injury issues.
To the Broncos inside linebacker Alex Singleton, that’s where the key to the game rests. You can’t stop everything before you stop one thing first.
“The games that they’ve won and kind of controlled, they’ve run the ball really well and then play-action and they can take over the game with the deep balls and those receivers,” he told The Post. “To beat them, you’ve got to stop the run. I know that’s what we say against every team, but this team in particular, it’s a must-do.
“The back-end guys have to know we’re stopping the run first so they can take away what they have to. It’s definitely stop the run and make them throw.”
Perhaps a good illustration of the challenge is the way Payton answered a similar question. He went the other direction.
“Somehow or another, you have to affect the quarterback, No. 1, because there are enough weapons when you look at the runners, the tight ends and the receivers,” he said. “Then No. 2, it’s your early-down efficiency and getting to those third downs that are more favorable.”
The bottom line is the same no matter where you start.
“It’s not one thing, and it’s not like an easy thing,” Payton said. “You have to have some mixed looks. These guys do a great job of packaging plays at the line of scrimmage. They’ll have a menu of three or four different plays. They will run a shift, and then you’ll see Goff reset and kind of signal what play he wants based on the information he’s seeing defensively.
“It’s a little cat and mouse game.”
The Broncos defense has been the cheese over the past eight weeks. The followed up a turnover binge by generating 17 sacks over the past four games. They’ve harassed quarterbacks, won third down and stiffened in the red zone.
They’ve not seen an offense quite as broadly capable as this one in quite a while, however.
“They’re good,” Singleton said. “For the most part of the year they’ve been fun to watch and now we get to see how we line up. But it’s a team you want to play this time of year. We can kind of prove the type of team we are.
“That’s why they moved the game to prime time and all of that stuff. It’s a good opportunity for us to go out and kind of prove the team we are right now.”
NFL players and teams don’t get to sit around and watch football all that often, but they’ve seen the Lions the whole year because of scheduling quirks. Detroit’s played several games against teams that the Broncos are about to play, including Kansas City, Green Bay and the Chargers, meaning the Lions kept popping up on Denver’s film study throughout the season.
“They’ve done a tremendous job offensively, “ Payton said. “They run the ball out of two-back sets, which I like. You see that. They get to certain menus to take advantage of what they’re seeing. Couple runs, three passes–they’re very detail-oriented. You see it on tape. They’re well-coached. And then, you take the young tight end, and you take the receiver, and you take the two backs and the quarterback—they’ve been impressive. It’s a tape that we watch, and I watch each week. It’s one of those offenses that they’re doing a lot of good things, and it’s evident on the film and in the statistics.
“It’s one of the reasons they’re winning.”
Denver’s defense is one of the key reasons it’s been winning.
Game on.
“We’re excited for it,” Singleton said. “The front seven guys, it’s, alright, it’s our opportunity to go win this game. However you want to put it. We get to go out there and do it.”
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