Broncos Roundtable: Can Denver overcome their road woes?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — On Sunday, the Denver Broncos take on their most daunting task in the Vance Joseph Era.

It’s not their opponent, the New York Jets. It’s the road.

Since Joseph took over this team before the 2017 season, the Broncos have one lone win away from Mile High.

Facing the 1-3 Jets, they’ll look to double their road wins.

The BSN Broncos crew breaks down how, and if, they’ll be able to pull it off.

IS IT TIME TO TRY CHAD KELLY?

Ryan

Come on — Look, I totally get why fans want to see this, Swag was awesome in the preseason, he has that “gamer” reputation, and he’s the only option on the roster that gives them hope for the future of the Broncos quarterback situation.

Here’s the thing, though, money talks, money talks, money talks. I cannot stress enough just how much of a loud mouth money is. Money never shuts up.

Case Keenum is getting paid $18 million to be the Denver Broncos starting quarterback this year and, because of that, he’s going to be the Denver Broncos starting quarterback come hell or high water. Now, if that high water turns into a full-fledged flood, you might see Chad, but the season would likely have to be fully submerged.

Zac

No swag — Case Keenum hasn’t thrown a touchdown since Week 1.

He has double the number of interceptions (6) as he does touchdowns (3).

The only quarterbacks with a worse passer rating than Keenum (72.1) have either been benched for rookies — Tyrod Taylor (63.7) and Sam Bradford (62.5) — or are a rookie — Josh Allen (63.8).

Saying all of that, it is not time for Chad Kelly.

The Broncos didn’t guarantee $25 million to Keenum to bench him after four games.

Keenum has them on pace for a .500 season — far better than their 5-11 season last year. But more importantly, Keenum’s made them competitive in three of their four games.

Far worse would have to happen in order to see No. 6.

Andre

Not yet — Trying Kelly is a desperation move, and it basically acknowledges that the season is lost. Denver’s not at that point yet.

Look, as hard as the past two weeks have been, they were tough games that I predicted Denver would lose. The chances of going 9-7 if not better are far from lost.

However, Keenum must play better. Beyond his poor touchdown-to-interception ratio or a league-low 72.1 quarterback rating, or even his struggles on third down, Keenum needs to be more accurate.

He can’t miss one-on-one opportunities with Courtland Sutton outside, and he has to throw receivers open instead of waiting for them to come open. If he can’t do that, it might be time to make a change, whether its Kelly or even Kevin Hogan.

HOW CAN THE BRONCOS OVERCOME THEIR ROAD WOES?

Ryan

Aim the gun away from their foot — One time I was golfing and—a few beers in—I was too lazy to find a yardage marker, so I just guessed. I bombed a 7-iron 20 yards over the green.

My buddy looked at me and said, “What distance did you have?”

“I didn’t have one,” I responded.

With a shocked look on his face, he said, “Dude, this game is already so hard, why make it harder than it already is?”

I really felt that. I’ve never skipped the search for a sprinkler head ever again.

So, to the Broncos, winning on the road is already so hard, don’t make it harder than it already is with stupid penalties. If they can be disciplined, avoid drive killer and drive extenders, and costly turnovers, they’ll win this game.

Zac

Run. The. Rock. — Look no further than Vance Joseph himself to find the formula to win on the road.

“Running the football and taking shots on offense with our skill guys and playing great defense. That wins road games,” Joseph stated with confidence.

Not only is Joseph right about the formula, he has the team to do it.

The Broncos are the third-best rushing team in the entire NFL, running for 148.3 yards per game, and their 5.6 yards per carry is the second-best in the land.

The Broncos shouldn’t overthink this one, pound the ball.

Andre

Early lead — Playing on the east coast for a team out west is never easy, especially in an early 11 am start.

The key to winning on the road is getting off to a quick start, throwing the kitchen sink at the Jets defense in the opening drives with some creative play calls and confusing rookie Sam Darnold with blitzes and aggressive coverages.

With an early lead, the Broncos can run the ball more offensively and pin their ears back rushing the passer on ‘D’, their two strengths, all while taking the crowd out the game.

KEY PLAYER

Ryan

Rolls Royce Freeman — I have a sneaking suspicion that the Broncos are going to overcorrect last week’s mistakes and force-feed Freeman in this one.

There are two ways that could go. First, the Jets could be prepared for it, stack the box and force Case Keenum to throw the rock. Second, Royce could burst onto the scene as a serious star at the running back position.

Considering the fact, that there aren’t too many people excited about the idea of Keenum having to win a game with his arm, I think Royce running with this opportunity is going to be paramount.

Zac

Samuel Richard Darnold — The No. 3 overall pick will face the most daunting pass rush of his life on Sunday. To give his team a chance to win, he has to step up in the face of pressure.

In the Jets’ single win on the season, in their first game against the Detroit Lions, Darnold was magnificent for rookie standards — completing 76 percent of his passes with two touchdowns to only one interception and a 117 passer rating.

In the team’s three losses, however, he’s only thrown two touchdowns to four interceptions and put up a 63.8 passer rating.

“He’s a young guy, so he’s made some mistakes, but he can go hot and cold. If he’s hot, it’s going to be a problem,” Joseph said in prepping for the talented rookie. “No different than last week. It’s a good, young quarterback with big-time talent. As those guys play, they get better and better. You can’t discount the talent. They’re young, but they’re going to play well eventually.”

If Darnold strikes fire against the Broncos, the Jets will give Denver a run for their money. If not, it’ll be hard for the rest of the team to overcome their quarterback’s struggles.

Andre

Bradley Chubb — Chubb’s been better rushing the passer lately, and as he’s been dropped in coverage less often he’s been much better making an impact as a run defender too.

Against the Jets, he’ll face off against left tackle Kelvin Beachum who’s already allowed two sacks on the season and been flagged once for holding.

Beachum is far from a world beater, and the type of matchup Chubb should win outside getting after Darnold early and often.

THE BRONCOS WIN IF

Ryan

They win or tie in the turnover battle — There are two main components to erasing a talent gap—something the Broncos have over the Jets—homefield advantage and turnovers.

The Jets already have one of those things this Sunday, the Broncos absolutely cannot afford to give them the second one.

If they don’t turn it over themselves, I’m not even going to say they have to create turnovers; they just have to keep it even.

Zac

They have the more efficient quarterback — Case Keenum doesn’t need to be a world-beater on Sunday, he just needs to be at least on-par with Darnold.

This should be easy for Keenum and the Broncos, too, as Denver’s offense should go through the running game, leaving little pressure and room for error for Keenum.

Andre

They strike the right balance — We have yet to see an even performance from the defense or offense this year, across the board.

The offense needs to have more of a 50-50 split with the run and pass, and the defense can’t alternate poor performances from the back-seven when the front plays well or vice versa.

If everyone can play evenly, the Jets should be beaten.

Denver needs to dominate defensively against Darnold and a ho-hum group of offensive playmakers, playing aggressive and forcing the rookie to make tough throws under duress. Take away everything underneath and force the Jets to beat you deep.

RESULT

Ryan

Broncos 24, Jets 20 — It’s not going to be pretty, but there are few things more beautiful than a road win. You’ll take it how you can get it.

Zac

Broncos 24, Jets 17 — If the Broncos are ever going to get right on the road, this is the game. Denver’s elite run defense should hold the Jets’ two running backs in check, and the pass rush should contain Sam Darnold.

If the Broncos don’t beat themselves, they’ll beat the Jets.

Andre

Broncos 23, Jets 13 — The Jets are struggling, having lost three straight by an average margin of defeat of 10 points. Their offense hasn’t been great while their defense has to be respected. In a defensive battle, that takes the Broncos a bit to gain control of, they pull of the 10-point win with a few timely defensive turnovers.