Denver foes are running into trouble
The slap was so hard it felt like slander, and the message stung: The Broncos are soft. They can’t stop the run.
Hey, who were the knuckleheads that spewed that garbage? Please. Remind the Broncos again.
“We’ve played four straight games and we’ve played four all-pro running backs. And they’ve done nothing against us,” defensive end Shelby Harris bellowed Sunday, after the Broncos knocked the stuffing out of Oakland in a 16-10 victory that will leave a mark on their hated AFC West Division rivals.
A work of art? No, this game was
more like a sweaty day’s work at the junkyard. It sounded like broken glass and crushed metal. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr fell and couldn’t get up during the second half. The silver and black left Colorado all black and blue.
“Our run defense has been stout the entire year,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said.
Not to suggest the Broncos are keeping score, but here’s a tally the members of Denver’s defense would be happy to recite by heart. Through four games, Denver has indeed faced four Pro Bowl running backs. Let’s do the math. Melvin Gordon of the Los Angeles Chargers: 18 carries, 54 yards.
Ezekiel Elliott of Dallas: nine carries, 8 yards.
LeSean McCoy of Buffalo: 14 carries, 21 yards.
Marshawn Lynch of Oakland: nine carries, 12 yards.
That’s four running backs with 12 combined trips to the Pro Bowl to their credit.
And here’s their total production versus Denver: 50 carries, 95 yards.
The Broncos have faced a murderer’s row of NFL running backs, and killed their stats, to say nothing of their spirit. On 50 carries, the average gain of Lynch, McCoy, Elliott and Gordon has been 68 inches.
Wait … what? A grown man should be able to fall forward 68 inches. But Denver has made four above-the-marquee backs look as if they couldn’t play dead in a Western movie.
Let’s review. They call him Money Lynch; he left Colorado bankrupt. At Buffalo, the Broncos threw shade at McCoy. Derek Wolfe and crew hit Elliott, the NFL rushing champ a year ago, so hard that he quit. After Gordon flashed for 21 yards on the very first snap of the season against the Denver defense, he got stuck in traffic.
What has been the mind-set of Denver’s defensive line against these great running backs?
“Whip their butt,” Harris said.
Beating the Raiders was especially sweet for Harris, a 26-year-old defender who has been cut six times in his young career and came to Denver looking for a job after being told by Oakland, the New York Jets and Dallas he was not good enough to make a real impact in the NFL.
“Playing the old team, hitting the old quarterback and getting the old ‘W,’ that’s a pretty good day,” said Harris, credited with the sack in the third quarter that sidelined Carr with a back injury. “The whole thing was not letting Marshawn get built up and breaking tackles and running over people. So today was great. He had no room to run.”
The Real Big D of the Broncos caused Oakland coach Jack Del Rio to get desperate early. Down 10-0 in the second quarter, the Raiders faced fourth down at Denver’s 31yard line. Instead of attempting a long field goal, Del Rio went for it, needing to gain only 3 feet to move the chains.
The Broncos, however, refused to give an inch. When Lynch was handed the football for a run up the gut, they punched back, stuffing him from no gain.
“Had to get that stop,” said Will Parks, who darted in from his safety position to meet Lynch in the hole and make the tackle.
“Going for it on fourthand1? We kind of take that as an insult. We pride ourselves as being the best defense in the league. Now it’s a tough league and the Raiders are a great organization. But as long as we go out there and execute, what we do? We feel like nobody can hang with us.”
Yes, pro football is a job. It’s a job, however, the guys in the front seven of Denver’s defense have taken very personally since being cited for months as the soft underbelly to the No-Fly Zone. True confession: I might have been one of those knuckleheads who questioned if the Broncos were tough enough to get it done against the run.
“Don’t act like you weren’t,” said Harris, laughing.
The job of Wolfe, Harris and the big D-linemen is to deliver pain. It’s a pain that Lynch will feel in his bones.
As far the Denver defense is concerned, it doesn’t matter how slick is your game or how fancy is your name. Money, Shady, Zeke or Flash. It’s all the same. The Broncos will make you a promise: Getting out of bed on Monday is going to hurt.