ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For the first time in a long time, scoring hasn’t been an issue for the Denver Broncos.
Well, in the first half, that is.
After failing to put up 20 points in an entire game since Week 13 of the 2018 season, the Broncos were set to make that stat ancient history in Week 4. Before halftime, Denver had notched 17 points on the board and had scored in every other possession.
They fell significantly short of their 34-point pace as they were only able to get one touchdown in the second half.
The following week against the Chargers was even more drastic of a tale of two halves, except this was more of a tale of four quarters.
In the first quarter, Rich Scangarello’s unit jumped all over the Chargers defense, putting together back-to-back touchdown drives and emphatically taking a commanding 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Their 56-point pace was nowhere to be found after those two drives, however, as Joe Flacco and Co. only managed two field goals in the final three quarters.
“I think a lot of it is we kicked ourselves in the butt,” veteran receiver Emmanuel Sanders said on Tuesday, explaining why the offense has stalled in back-to-back games. “We opened up the third quarter, we drive the ball down, the first play we have like a 15-yard run. Then we stall at the 40 or 45. We can’t allow that to happen. It’s been happening the past two games in terms of the second half.”
In fact, outside of one touchdown drive—the go-ahead drive against the Jaguars with under two minutes remaining—the Broncos have 157 total yards of offense combined in their last two second halves.
In contrast, they have 460 yard of offense in those two first halves.
“We’re trying to figure out a way—whether it’s aggressive play calling or better execution, we have to be better in the second half,” Sanders said with clear frustration.
But as Sanders continued to talk, it became clear what the answer was. And it certainly wasn’t being more aggressive, as the team has been to open up games.
“Obviously you want to come out, you want to be aggressive, right? But at the same time you sit back and you say, ‘We do have a 17-point lead. We don’t want to blow that lead as well.’ And you want to try and milk some of the clock off,” Sanders explained, after admitting there’s a tendency to get conservative when carrying a big lead.
“It’s easy to sit back and say, ‘Still remain aggressive,’ but at the same time, sometimes being aggressive, you know, the defense can cause turnovers. We were able to get the run game started in the second half, we were running the ball, it just stalled out. So we can’t allow that to happen.”
To Sanders point, in the past two first halves, when Denver’s offense has been more aggressive, they’ve had two turnovers. In the second halves, when they’ve become more conservative, they’ve only had one.
But the fact of the matter is, in both games the conservative play calling, or as some would say letting their foot off the gas, allowed both the Jaguars and Chargers right back in the game. The Broncos were able to hold off Los Angeles, but weren’t as fortunate against Jacksonville.
“If you’re down by 14 you got to change the game plan. If you’re up by 17, you got to change the game plan,” Sanders said, opening up that Denver’s game plan has changed when they’ve gotten a lead. “Going into the playbook, it’s all based off what Rich wants to do. If Rich wants to run the ball in the second half, that’s what we’re going to do.”
“You guys are asking the questions that I don’t have the answers to because that’s not my job,” Sanders said, frustrated by having to talk about the offensive woes in the second half.
From Sanders tone on Tuesday, it was clear Denver believes becoming more conservative when milking a big lead is still the way to go. The answer to their offensive woes in the second half is simply better execution.
