Von casts influence on Chubb
Ten takeaways from the Broncos’ 24-15 loss to San Francisco on Monday:
1. Play-time leaders (offense): G Austin Schlottmann
46 and 38 apiece for OT Elijah Wilkinson, C Jake Brendel, OT Jake Rodgers, and G Don Barclay. Among the starters, 19 apiece for QB Joe Flacco, C Connor McGovern, LG Dalton Risner, LT Garett Bolles and RT Ja’Wuan James, plus TE Noah Fant 17, WR Courtland Sutton 15, WR Emmanuel Sanders 14.
2. Play-time leaders (defense): LB Justin Hollins 47,
S Dymonte Thomas 42, S Trey Marshall 36 and CB Linden Stephens 34. Among the starters, 16 snaps apiece for OLB Bradley Chubb, OLB Von Miller, CB Chris Harris, ILB Josey Jewell, FS Justin Simmons, and ILB Josey Jewell.
3. Chubb’s impact plays:
On the initial third down, Chubb took a quick step outside before darting inside so quickly that veteran LT Joe Staley didn’t even touch him. The pressure forced QB Jimmy Garoppolo to throw with little velocity and CB Isaac Yiadom got the interception. Staley may have expected help from LG Laken Tomlinson. But still, it was an impressive speed rush by Chubb. On his sack in 2.57 seconds, Chubb got into the pads of RT Mike McGlinchey to take down QB C.J. Beathard. “I went with the power and got separation — Von just taught me that move two days ago,” Chubb said.
4. The first Broncos drive ended with a field goal: On third-and-6, Flac
co stepped up in the pocket and threw in 4.18 seconds to WR DaeSean Hamilton, who gained 13 yards. On the next play, a well-designed jet sweep for Sanders gained 19 yards around the right side thanks to a lead block by FB George Aston (outside seal of LB Malcolm Smith) and James (inside seal of LB David Mayo). On second-and-12 from the 49ers’ 13, Flacco missed a touchdown pass when he threw behind Fant, who was open on a quick slant.
5. Flacco, on playing his first game at Mile High with the home team: “It
gets your juices going. I know it’s not a full stadium yet but (they) had a good amount of people out there. The one thing I noticed, it was really weird, you can tell Peyton (Manning) played here because when the offense has the ball, it’s like you can hear a pin drop.”
6. Special-teams woes:
They began with a 48-yard kick return allowed. Brandon McManus had good hang time (4.19 seconds) and KR Richie James caught it at the 1-yard line. Don’t worry about the nontouchback — McManus is kicking the ball in play so the coverage players can be evaluated. Coach Vic Fangio post-game: “Big-time concerns because that’s two weeks in a row our special teams has gotten whipped and we’re going to have to get it fixed.”
7. Bolles’ struggles began on the second series:
Fant lost four yards on a screen when Bolles was unable to block CB Ahkello Witherspoon. Two plays later, Flacco’s best throw of the preseason was a 21-yard strike to Sutton (2.19 seconds) delivered under pressure after DL Damontre Moore got the advantage on Bolles. Another two plays later, Bolles and TE Troy Fumagalli were booked for bad run blocks when they ignored DL Solomon Thomas, who stopped RB Royce Freeman for a twoyard loss. And, on Flacco’s final drive, a 41-yard pass to Sanders was wiped out when Bolles held Moore.
8. The Broncos’ running game didn’t fire:
Their two longest carries were Sanders’ aforementioned play and a 10-yard jet sweep by WR Tim Patrick. The Broncos know how to block those. They had four rushes that lost yardage.
9. On the opening play for the second-team defense: Beathard threw
quick to RB Raheem Mostert in the right slot. Dymonte Thomas was unblocked but missed the tackle at the line of scrimmage. Also coming up empty were LB Kieshawn Bierra and LB Josh Watson.
10. Hogan touchdown:
QB Kevin Hogan scored the Broncos’ only touchdown (24-yard run). On a firstand-10 play, the protection was decent, but Hogan left the pocket, eluded LB LaRoy Reynolds at the 22 and scored untouched.