How to ignite struggling Denver offense? There are many areas to address.
After getting kicked in the teeth by the Raiders in their first visit to Las Vegas, perhaps the reeling Broncos should look for direction from the …. Dolphins?
Yes, the Dolphins. In Miami, the Dolphins are also seeking their first winning season since 2016, and come into Empower Field on Sunday at 6- 3 and riding a five- game win streak.
While quarterback Drew Lock has struggled in his second season, missing two games due to a shoulder injury and then throwing 10 interceptions in his five starts since returning, Miami has two capable quarterbacks on its roster. Journeyman veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick was 3- 3 over the first six games, and earned the Dolphins’ first two victories on their current run before being benched for rookie Tua Tagovailoa.
Since coming back from a serious hip injury to take the starting job, Tagovailoa is 3- 0, with wins over Rams, Cardinals and Chargers. Tagovailoa has completed 49 passes for 519 yards in his three starts, with five touchdowns and, more importantly, no interceptions. While Lock is playing inefficient hero ball, Tagovailoa’s working efficiently within his means. He is the first rookie quarterback in Miami history to win his first three starts, and in doing so he became the second QB in the modern era to not throw a pick and go 3- 0.
The youth of the Broncos is no excuse for Lock’s struggles. While Denver’s certainly asked a lot of its young players, and injuries have amplified that ask — against the Raiders, the Broncos started 12 players with three years of experience or less — so, too, have the Dolphins. The Broncos rank second in rookie snaps at 2,839 by 12 players, but Miami is fifth with 2,631 snaps by 15 rookies and enters Week 11 as the NFL’s second- youngest team with an average age of 25.76.
Unlike the Broncos, Miami’s also doing the little things right, enabling them to weather COVID- related speed bumps.
The Dolphins’ special teams has been a strength, which is a contrast to the ineptitude of the Broncos’ units, sans kicker Brandon McManus and punter Sam Martin. Miami ranks in the top 10 in five of the seven major statistical categories on special teams. And they’ve been winning the turnover battle, with a plus- 5 margin that ranks tied for fourth, compared to Denver’s minus- 12 margin that ranks next- to- last.
The Dolphins, thanks to Tagovailoa’s momentum boost, have a lot to play for down the stretch and can tie the Bills for the AFC East lead with a win Sunday. A divisional crown is still a feasible goal. The Broncos, meanwhile, sit at 3- 6 and are simply out to prove Lock is their franchise quarterback, even if his misfires lead Denver to a top 10 position in the 2021 draft.
How else can Miami inspire Denver? How about coming in ready to play from the opening whistle? The Dolphins have an NFL- best plus- 74 point differential at halftime this year, and rank second in first- half scoring at 18.1 points. The Broncos, meanwhile, are next- to- last in that category ( 7.8), just ahead of the winless Jets ( 7.6).
Should Miami win on Sunday, the Dolphins will have a sixgame winning streak for the first time in four seasons and a 7- 3 record for the first time since 2001. It would be more evidence Miami, rising a year or two earlier than pundits expected, is headed in the right direction.
On the other side, a Denver loss to fall to 3- 7 would indicate the opposite trajectory for the hapless Broncos. It’s a reality they’ve been facing all season, and another home defeat would cement the disparities between what the young Dolphins are doing with their talent, and what the Broncos aren’t doing with theirs.