DENVER – “Andrew Luck has the Denver Broncos’ number,” you could hear it all week throughout the country. And it was true.
Coming into Sunday’s matchup, Luck held a 3-1 record in games against the Broncos, including a playoff win at Sports Authority Field. The Denver defense had bashed Brady, ravaged Roethlisberger, ruined Rodgers and shot down Super Man Cam, but Luck appeared to be their kryptonite.
That narrative was simply the latest motivator for the Broncos, something they look for every week.
“I think it was just a different energy,” explained Von Miller of his temperament heading into the matchup.
He had never sacked Luck heading into Sunday, but the player who eventually exited the field to chants of “M-V-P” bagged three of ’em in this contest.
“That’s Von Miller, the most unblockable dude in the game,” C.J. Anderson said in the locker room with a smile. “99 [rating] in Madden, 99 spin move, 99 swim move, 99 across the board for that kid. In my opinion [he’s the best player in the game]. I know we have the Khalil Macks and JJ Watts and no disrespect to them, they’re great players but Von is the most unblockable dude in the game, and he shows up every week.”
Last season, the former No. 1 overall pick had his way with a defense that some were willing to call the best of all-time, going 21-36 for 252 yards and two touchdowns on his way to a 27-24 win. The vaunted pass-rush only got to him once. On Sunday, the numbers were quite the opposite. Luck going just 21-40 for 197 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That interception went to the house as did one of the five sacks the team notched.
Head coach Gary Kubiak—seeing both sides of the field, like a true head coach—had an interesting take on what changed for the Broncos this time around.
“I think the way we played offensively in the first half had a lot to do with how well we played against Andrew,” he explained, likely remembering how they fell behind 17-0 last season. “Offensively, we had almost 300 yards at halftime, if I’m correct, and we moved the ball extremely well. I think that had a lot to do with it… He’s always going to come [back], he does that in every game he plays. He had his team back in position again, until we made the big play.”
It’s truly a marvel how they always make that great play. Kubiak, of course, referencing Von Miller’s strip-sack that Shane Ray cashed in for a touchdown that iced the game. It’s almost as if the whole defense, especially Miller, has an extra gear when the game is on the line. All of the sudden they’re coming a half-second faster, covering a half-inch closer, hitting just a bit harder.
“It’s time to close,” Miller said of that gear. “They’ve got to score, they don’t have timeouts, we’re going to rush. The secondary, Chris [Harris], Aqib [Talib] and those guys are going to lock; we’re just going to rush. That was the mindset we took into [the end of the game], and it worked out for us.”
That approach, that strategy is a gauntlet that almost no quarterback can escape. It’s that release-the-dogs mentality that allows them to make game-winning play after game-winning play. It’s all about Wade Phillips trusting his players to do their job with the game on the line, and a little outside noise doesn’t hurt either.
“We stuck to our game plan and did what we do today against Luck, we didn’t change anything up,” explained Talib. “We went out there and played ‘Bronco D’ today and showed you [Luck] ain’t got our number.”
A little added motivation is all it takes for this defense to go from dangerous to lethal.
