The bye week came at the perfect time for the Denver Broncos.
Or, so it seems.
On Monday, the undefeated Broncos got back to work in preparation for the also 6-0 Green Bay Packers who come to the Mile High City in a monumental match-up Sunday night. And while it will be a difficult game for Denver, the team got some positive news to start the week as nearly all their most important players returned to the practice fields.
DeMarcus Ware, Ty Sambrailo, Emmanuel Sanders and Evan Mathis all worked out with their teammates and did the normal prep work for a Monday. The only Broncos player practicing was rookie and former first-round pick Shane Ray, who is nursing a sprained MCL which was sustained in the win over the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 18. Ray could be out 4-6 weeks in total.
For Ware, back spasms which flared up in the win over the Oakland Raiders in Week 5 have calmed down. Ware’s an All-Pro and teamed up with Von Miller on the other side, the two are beasts who terrorize opposing quarterbacks.
Sanders, who’s been the Broncos most consistent playmaker on offense, injured a shoulder late in the game against Cleveland. He was somewhat surprisingly back at practice, but some of his work was in individual drills, head coach Gary Kubiak explained Monday.
“I would say he took about half the practice, really more individual than anything,” Kubiak explained of Sanders’ health. “We went about an hour-and-a-half and a good 45 minutes was individual work. He took that part and [we] expect him to be able to do everything on Wednesday.”
Onto the offensive line, which has been hurting since before the season began and Ryan Clady was lost for the year. His replacement, rookie Ty Sambrailo out of Colorado State, was injured himself in the victory over the Detroit Lions. That meant Denver had to shift Ryan Harris to left tackle and have Michael Schofield start at the right side. Mathis, a veteran bruiser who was signed in the offseason, has been dealing with a hamstring issue all season.
The good news, as Kubiak said, was the offensive line is nearly back to full strength.
“Everybody is on the field going at it today full speed. Everybody is back,” Kubiak said. “Everybody took the full practice and Ty [Sambrailo] is full speed, so a big test coming for him this week when we put the pads on [for] our normal Thursday. We’re pretty much full speed back to work today.”
The head coach also explained that when Sambrailo is ready to play, he’ll be the Broncos starter on the left side again. Having Sambrailo back this week will be key as the Packers have pass-rushing expert Julius Peppers as their right outside linebacker; Peppers has racked up 5.5 sacks and one forced fumble already this season.
While Denver is likely the NFL’s No. 1 defense overall, the Packers have allowed a league-low 101 points. This will be a battle of two dominant defenses and truly talented teams; the Broncos look healthy heading into the could-be great game.
