BRONCOS WIN ON 4TH DOWN BLITZ,
Fourth-down blitz helps Broncos win 2nd straight
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Throughout his year-plus as the Broncos’ coach and defensive play-caller, Vic Fangio has occasionally gone to great lengths to say he was not immune to blitzing in general and blitzing at critical times in particular.
The pressures were in his playbook. The situation and opponent need to be just right. And just watch, the Broncos will double down at the figurative blackjack table when it is unexpected, he promised.
The time was exactly right late in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
The Patriots were on the cusp of completing a 15-point comeback when quarterback Cam Newton and Co. faced a fourthand-10 from the Broncos’ 24.
Suddenly, Fangio became Gambling Vic.
Safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson got a head start from nine yards beyond the line of scrimmage. They were joined by five other pass rushers, whose pressure forced Newton to throw incomplete in 2.59 seconds before receiver N’keal Harry could complete his out route. The pressure allowed the Broncos to escape with an 18-12 win and produced sighs of relief from Fangio (for the gutsy call), quarterback Drew Lock (two fourth-quarter interceptions) and well, the entire Broncos organization. Up 18-3 with nine minutes remaining, a loss would have meant a painful flight back to Denver and an even more tortuous tape review Monday.
“That was very Vic-esque,” Simmons said of the call. “He has such a great feel for the game in terms of play-calling and he felt it was the right time to call it.”
The right call at the right time and the right result.
The Broncos failed to score a touchdown … and won. Lock threw two fourth-quarter picks … and didn’t lose. And Brandon Mcmanus accounted for all of the points (field goals of 45, 44, 27, 52, 20 and 54 yards) … and it was enough.
“I think it speaks to the type of players we have, the type of team we have, the type of conviction we have,” Fangio said of the defense after the Broncos won following a 17-day layoff. “Those guys went out there and fought, fought, fought.”
When they were 0-3, the Broncos were just about done, done, done. Following wins over the Jets and Patriots, they should have some hope.
“Proud of my boys,” defensive end Shelby Harris said in a phone interview with The Denver Post. “We really answered the bell. We had to go out there and step up and be the best defense on the field and we did. We answered every call asked of us.”
The last call was the biggest call. Lock’s interception with 3:14 remaining (why weren’t the Broncos leaning on Phillip Lindsay to burn some clock?) gave the Patriots hope. In the Broncos’ defensive huddle, the message was simple.
“It was pretty much, ‘Suck it up, let’s get it,’” Harris said. “That’s what great defenses do.”
New England was so flummoxed offensively it had receiver Julian Edelman throw completions of 22 and 16 yards. Quarterback Cam Newton caught the second pass, down to the Broncos’ 24 with under 90 seconds remaining.
Fourth-and-10 arrived after a Newton incompletion, outside linebacker Malik Reed’s second sack and a six-yard catch by running back James White. The Broncos called timeout with 1:03 remaining.
The Broncos’ personnel: Fangio deployed six defensive backs, the extras being De’vante Bausby and cornerback Duke Dawson. Harris was the only lineman on the field.
The Patriots’ personnel: Edelman (slot) and Harry (wide) lined up to the right, receiver Damiere Byrd wide right and White and running back Rex Burkhead flanking Newton in the shotgun.
The call: Not quite “Cover Zero” (all-out blitz with across-theboard man coverage), but close. The Broncos rushed seven, leaving Dawson to account for the middle of the field. Bausby and cornerbacks Michael Ojemudia and Bryce Callahan were in man coverage.
The play: The Patriots kept seven in protection, which cost Newton an outlet receiver. Newton wasn’t hit, but Simmons and Reed forced him to throw wide to Harry.
“We just knew, ‘This is it. This is the play,’” said Ojemudia, who had two forced fumbles. “We had to cover for about one, two, three seconds and thanks to Vic for having the trust in us to cover our guys. That definitely took some guts and we appreciated the call.”
Is Fangio becoming more confident in his cornerbacks? That has to be the main consideration. He would be hesitant to blitz safeties and inside linebackers if he didn’t feel his corners could track players down and across the field. And he could get A.J. Bouye back from a shoulder injury next week.
Is Fangio going to turn into a blitz-happy play-caller? Broncos fans should hope so. Pressure does lead to big plays allowed, but it also leads to sacks and turnovers.
“At one time, I was the leading blitz-krieger in the NFL,” Fangio said. “With the teams I had in San Francisco and Chicago, we didn’t need to (blitz). But it’s there when it needs to be had and obviously we needed to have it (Sunday).”
Needed it because the Broncos nearly gave the game away, wasting Mcmanus’ franchise recordbreaking effort and spoiling the return of running back Phillip Lindsay (101 yards on 22 carries). The Broncos led 9-3 at halftime, 18-3 entering the fourth quarter and 18-9 with 8:31 remaining. And nearly squandered it all.
They found a way to survive the Patriots’ last gasps, though, and now head home to face Kansas City and the Los Angeles Chargers.
“They are a tough-minded group of people,” Fangio said. “I think that was on display (Sunday).”