ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Last week presented a near perfect matchup for the Denver Broncos defense. They faced a team who struggled to run the ball, loved to chuck it and was prone to coughing up the rock. The result: An easy, dominating win in which Denver forced three turnovers and only conceded 10 points.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, this week appears to be quite the opposite. The Titans run the ball extremely well—ranking third in the NFL in rushing yards per game—they throw sparingly compared to the rest of the league—only putting it up 52 percent of the time—and they take care of the rock—only giving away the ball 13 times this year.
On paper, the Broncos are in trouble, and the Titans are licking their chops.
“I don’t know if it’s their pass rush is so relentless,” Tennessee head coach Mike Mularkey said of why teams have had so much success running the ball against Denver. “You see some plays here and there and Jacksonville hit a couple up inside. I think it’s been the persistence of offenses to continue to run it. Even though it’s a pretty stout defensive line, I think teams have just continued to try and run the ball to take the pressure off the quarterback and the pass rush.”
The Titans will certainly not change that tune. Tennessee runs the ball 30 times per game on average; it’s their bread and butter behind DeMarco Murray and former Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. Oh yeah, and they have that other Heisman winner in the backfield, too, Marcus Mariota. Mariota has run for more than 300 yards himself this season.
“They’re a big football team,” head coach Gary Kubiak said. “They have two first round picks at tackle. They have two backs, that not only are good backs, but are big backs. This team is capable of pounding you. We’ve had some issues with the run, so we know we’re going to get tested. For two big guys, they make a lot of big plays. They do cut backs and take the ball across the field. They also have a quarterback that can run. They’ve been moving the ball extremely well. They’re tough to deal with.”
That must be concerning.
“It’s not a concern,” said linebacker Todd Davis.
“It’s not a concern,” said defensive lineman Billy Winn separately.
On paper, the Broncos are in trouble, but this defense is exactly the type of defense that takes a narrative like that and flips it on its head.
“It makes us focus,” Davis said of the idea that the Titans will run all over them. “It makes us focus on what they do in the run game, how they like to get Henry and Murray the ball. We’re not concerned. We’re just going to prepare for it.”
“We just know how much extra we need to do,” Winn added. “How much more we need to hone in on our details and fundamentals. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
As much as they’ll tell you that you better not need any extra motivation in the NFL, this team thrives off of doubt. They are constantly looking for something or someone to prove wrong. Each week they find extra motivation for whatever it may be that they want to achieve and this week they’ll have plenty.
“Every week we have a test, whether it’s going against top-five quarterbacks or trying to stop the running game,” Davis said. “This week it’s definitely their running game and that’s our challenge. We’ll be able to get it done.”
On paper, the Broncos are in trouble… Just don’t try to convince them of that.
“I just know what kind of defense we are,” Davis said of why they’ll stop the run. “I know we’re relentless and I have no doubt that we’ll be able to shut it down on Sunday.”
Back against the wall, numbers stacked against them, must-win game… The Broncos have ’em right where they want ’em.
