ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – When Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders finished with 120 yards receiving Thursday night, it was his fourth 100-yard game for the season.
But what was the really bad news for opposing defenses is the fact Sanders had a career-best three touchdowns in the game and had four touchdown catches in a five-day span in the two Broncos victories.
Not only were those were his first four touchdown receptions of the season, but they served as a rather convincing argument that quarterback Peyton Manning, much like last season when the Broncos had four players finish with at least 10 touchdown receptions, is again efficient, patient and willing to send the ball anywhere in the formation.
With that in mind, after a long look at the game video, here are some thoughts on the Broncos’ offense:
There were times last season when defensive coaches around the league said the preferred play against the Broncos was to give the extra attention to Demaryius Thomas and try to disrupt the Broncos’ other pass catchers at the line of scrimmage. The Broncos didn’t lose often in the record 606-point season that was 2013, but that strategy did work at times, most notably in the Super Bowl. But Sanders has muted that strategy. On his second touchdown catch Thursday night – the 31-yarder up the right sideline – the Chargers pressed all of the Broncos receivers, aggressively putting their hands on the receivers in the five-yard contract zone following the snap. But Chargers cornerback Richard Marshall got caught to the inside a bit and wasn’t even able to touch Sanders on the way by and the play turned into a simple catch-and-run. It exhibited why the Broncos believed Sanders was the best available free agent receiver in getting away from press coverage because of his quickness in the short area and his speed to run away from the defender once he created the separation.
Manning has long taken advantage of defensive mistakes, but his accuracy with the ball continues to create touchdowns despite defenses having made the right call. On his third scoring throw to Sanders – a 3-yard touchdown pass with 10:53 remaining in the third quarter – the Chargers had the right call on with cornerback Shareece Wright and safety Eric Weddle with Sanders effectively bracketed. But Manning fired the ball in over the top and Sanders made a leaping grab. “His jumping ability is what really is impressive,’’ Manning said of the play “ … When I threw it I said, ‘Uh oh, this one could be a little high’ … and he goes up there and gets it. He’s a special athlete.’’
Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase will often work in some tendency breakers along the way. The Broncos had not a run a play in a traditional two-back look all season long, at least one with two running backs in the backfield. They’ve tinkered with tight end Virgil Green in the backfield and Green has two carries this season. But on rookie running back Juwan Thompson’s two rushing touchdowns, he was lined up as a fullback with Ronnie Hillman in the I-formation behind him on both plays with the Broncos in a heavy formation with three tight ends. Manning handed the ball to the up back – Thompson – on both plays for the two scores.
Hillman, now with two 100-yard games in his three starts to go with a 4.9 yards-per-carry average in those three games, has shown plenty of speed and explosiveness. But his ability to keep the job as the primary runner might also be rooted in how he has finished runs. Though he’s 195 pounds or so, over the last three games especially, Hillman has shown finishing power. He has run with more lean and consistently moved things forward after contact in traffic. Right from his first run, when he gained three additional yards after contact through the middle of the formation, Hillman kept himself moving in the pile.
When Manning describes the offense as “on schedule,’’ he’ll often describe it as “first down, second down, first down." The Broncos were on that schedule for the most part Thursday night. They ran just 10 plays on third down – penalty snaps included – and two of those were touchdowns. The Broncos did not have to run a third-down play in the third quarter.