Opponent Scouting Report: Denver Broncos
By Andrew Ites
The Denver Broncos still have the league’s best defense, but is it enough to carry this team back to the playoffs?
The Broncos’ stellar defense has carried this team over the past few seasons including a Super Bowl victory two years ago.
They’re D ranked number one again last season, according to Football Outsiders, but a middling offense held this team back in 2016, and it could be the same story again this year.
Strengths
Denver built their defense around dominant pass-rushers and three high-caliber cornerbacks.
Von Miller is a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down racking up double-digit sack totals in every season that he’s been healthy.
Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. are not just two great players; their skill sets compliment each other extremely well with Talib’s physical style of play, and Harris Jr.’s ability to stick with smaller and speedier receivers.
The Broncos would like to see young players like OLB Shane Ray and CB Bradley Roby step up to make this a suffocating pass defense once again this season.
Weaknesses
Denver heads into training camp with an open quarterback competition for the second year in a row as Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch will battle for the starting job.
Lynch has a much higher upside, but he proved he wasn’t ready to run the offense in his two starts last season.
Siemian fits the “game manager” role that would fit well with an elite defense, but he was a below-average QB last season throwing for 7 yards per attempt with 18 TD’s and 10 INT’s.
Denver had the league’s 28th-ranked offense last season, and inexperience at the QB position could lead to offensive trouble again in 2017.
Next: Peyton Manning Finishes Second on All-Time QB List
The Colts and Broncos figure to be possible Wild Card contenders next season, and their matchup in Week 15 could have major playoff implications.
Denver’s pass rush will give Indianapolis troubles, but they may not be able to score enough points to keep up with Andrew Luck and the Colts’ offense.
In case you missed it, here are the scouting reports for the rest of the teams on Indianapolis’ 2017 schedule: