Denver’s 19-17 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon wasn’t pretty. Neither was its red zone offense, which head coach Sean Payton said earlier in the week needs improvement.
The Broncos converted one touchdown on four red zone attempts in their first home victory of the season. And even though quarterback Russell Wilson’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton in the third quarter was a sweet play design, two drives in particular showed some of the problems that have plagued Denver in the red area in 2023.
First let’s examine the Broncos’ red zone opportunity to start the second quarter. Denver was pinned at Green Bay’s 24-yard line when Wilson hit Sutton for an 11-yard completion to advance the ball on third down. The following plays were unsuccessful. Running back Javonte Williams was stopped for a 3-yard gain before Green Bay’s pass rush forced Wilson to throw two straight incomplete passes. Denver had to settle for a 29-yard field goal to take a 6-0 with 13:14 left in the quarter.
The Broncos want to be a run-heavy offense, but sometimes the team seems to abandon the ground game whenever they are inside the 20-yard line. On that drive, Denver did a solid job at pushing the ball down the field with its running back trio of Williams, rookie Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine. McLaughlin ran 11 yards for a first down. A few plays later, Williams did the same to advance the ball to Green Bay’s 48-yard line. Perine turned a screen pass from Wilson into a 19-yard gain before rushing five yards to the Packers’ 24.
From that point, Denver ran the ball once and threw four times, resulting in three incomplete passes.
A similar situation happened in the fourth quarter of Week 1’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Denver was up 13-10 when Perine ran 12 yards to Las Vegas’ 8-yard line. Then the Broncos decided to throw three straight times. Tight end Adam Trautman made a 3-yard catch before two straight incompletions forced Denver to settle for a field goal.
“It starts with the running game,” said Payton, whose team is 4 for 9 in the red zone over the last three games. “I’ve said that before. We need to be better in that area. I think we started off the season pretty well, and of late, it hasn’t been as good.”
Against the Packers, the Broncos were run-heavy in the red area on the opening drive of the first. But their issues with penalties crept up. Williams, who finished with 15 carries for 82 yards, bounced to the left for a 15-yard gain. Denver’s offensive line opened the gates for McLaughlin to run up the middle for a 7-yard gain. After McLaughlin’s 2-yard rush, Williams powered into the end zone for a touchdown, but it was called back because of a holding call on offensive lineman Quinn Bailey.
Wilson’s pass to McLaughlin was well short of the goal line on third down, forcing the Broncos to kick a field goal. Denver is among four teams in the league that only has one rushing touchdown this season.
“When you convert a first down in the red zone, you look at the odds jump in your favor,” Payton said. “When you have a penalty in the red zone, it’s pretty difficult to overcome, relative to scoring.”
Extra Points
• Sticking to the run game, Williams had the most rushing yards he has recorded in a game since his 102-yard performance against the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 5, 2021. Williams had three rushes for 10-plus yards, which is tied for the second most he’s had in a single game in his career.
“It’s only in the last three weeks, four weeks, where I’m really getting a good feeling and a good handle on his strengths,” Payton said. “I think you’re going to continue to see that trend of him just getting better and better.”
• Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton has been a tackle machine. Singleton recorded 11 tackles against the Packers, marking the fifth straight game he has recorded double digits. He is one of two Broncos players since 1987 to post at least five consecutive games with 10 or more tackles, joining former linebacker Todd Davis.
Of course, he also had a missed tackle on a pass to A.J. Dillon on the Packers’ final drive that went for 29 yards and put Green Bay at the Denver 44-yard line. The Denver defense stiffened after that, with the Packers getting no closer, and P.J. Locke sealed it with his interception.
• Sunday marked Wilson’s 29th fourth-quarter comeback in the regular season — second most among active players. Wilson’s 16-yard pass to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy played a key part in setting up kicker Wil Lutz’s go-ahead 52-yard field goal with under four minutes left in regulation.
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