Week 3 has ended and the Broncos ride away 1-2.
Yes, you read that right. The Broncos waltz into Raymond James Stadium and beat the red-hot Buccaneers. Let’s take a peek at what went down in this one-sided beatdown.
QTR1: Opens up with a strong drive that ended with QB Bo Nix scrambling into the endzone for 6. The Buccaneers would stall out on their first drive resulting in a punt. The Broncos would follow suit and punt their next drive. QB Baker Mayfield decided to try and break the mold and end the punt fest by throwing an ugly INT to S Brandon Jones. And for the first time this season, the Broncos would score a 2nd touchdown in the same game by handing the ball off to RB Jaleel McLaughlin. The Buccaneers decided to play it safe and punt the ball away on their next drive.
QTR2: Would start with a decent drive by the Broncos that would end in a FG.
The Buccaneers, seemingly tired of punting, went for it on 4th and 2 at the Denver 45-yard line. However, Baker failed to connect, giving the ball back to Denver with a decent field position. Unfortunately for Denver, just a few plays later, Javonte Williams would fumble the ball, giving it back to the Buccaneers on their 40-yard line. Baker and the Buccaneers finally put together a drive. They marched down the field and scored a touchdown cutting down the deficit. The Broncos would follow up by getting a decent drive going and kicking a 2nd FG making the final score of the half 20-7
QTR3: If you have been watching the Broncos’ games this season, this QTR seemed painfully familiar as both teams would spend the QTR punting to each other. Outside of the Broncos sacking Baker a few times not much happened this QTR.
QTR4: Featured a much more action-packed series of drives. On their first possession of the QTR, the Broncos would kick another FG, and the defense would sack Baker again, eventually forcing the Buccaneers to go for it on 4th. Where he would get sacked for the 4th time this game. The Broncos would score the final points of the game with a 43-yard FG. The Buccaneers are now down 26-7 and, in a promising drive, would suffer 2 more sacks and an unfortunate fumble, giving the Broncos the ball back, effectively ending the hopes of a comeback. The Broncos would end up draining the clock and punting the ball back to the Buccaneers with 25 seconds left.
Final score 26-7.
Well, that was fun. Denver fans saw their team’s defense keep a high-powered offense in check and put a lot of pressure on the opposing team’s QB. They also saw their teams’ offense score enough points to win a game. The downside to this game, though, is we still haven’t seen a passing TD from Bo. And our running game still seems lackluster and a non-factor. I would really like to see our ballcarriers get more touches. The good news is that Bo is looking more comfortable and more confident making several deep completions. So, hopefully, we can iron out the rest of these issues, and this defense can continue to carry the way they have been. The Broncos get ready to fly to MetLife Stadium to face off against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
Darian Thompson