ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Godfather, Evil Genius, Mob Boss.
Those are a few of the nicknames Vic Fangio’s been given over his decades of defensive dominance in the NFL.
He certainly lived up to them on Sunday.
Sitting at 0-4, Fangio had seen enough—it was time to make changes. And the changes paid off in spades.
The first came before the game when Fangio decided to make former second-round pick Adam Gotsis a healthy scratch after the team allowed 269 rushing yards to the Jaguars one week before.
His replacement, Mike Purcell, was just what Dr. Vic ordered.
“I wanted to get Mike Purcell up because the best thing Mike does is play the run,” Fangio said, explaining the bold move.
It worked like magic as the Chargers had 234 fewer rushing yards than the Jags did one week before. Melvin Gordon and Co. only racked up a measly 35 yards on the ground. In fact, since 2016, it was only the second time Denver allowed less than 40 rushing yards.
Purcell also made his presence felt in the pass game as he was in the backfield on multiple occasions, including a quarterback hit.
The 6-foot-3, 328 pounder’s presence allowed Shelby Harris to move back to defensive end, the position he’s excelled the most at during his career. Unsurprisingly, the 290-pounder had his best game of the season, getting in Philip River’s face on multiple occasions and racking up two batted balls.
Another significant move Fangio made before the game was giving Alexander Johnson his first career start at inside linebacker. At 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, Johnson’s much-needed size paid off greatly.
Not only did Johnson have a crucial interception in the end zone, he had a touchdown-saving tackle at the one-yard line, which prevented Los Angeles from scoring a touchdown just before halftime. Additionally, he was butterfingers away from have two interceptions on the day.
The final move the Evil Genius made was doing everything in his power to keep Kareem Jackson at safety. On Sunday, that meant playing Duke Dawson at nickel so Jackson could roam all over the field.
And boy, did that look brilliant as Kareem was Denver’s best defensive player—and it wasn’t even close.
After Johnson’s touchdown-saving tackle on third down, Jackson had one himself. As Austin Ekeler sprinted to the pylon with no time left on the clock before half, Kareem shot out of a cannon and didn’t just prevent the quick back from scoring, he knocked the ball out, making sure there was no doubt Ekeler wouldn’t get in.
Fangio deemed the play “huge” after the game, adding those were the type of plays he envisioned Kareem making when they signed him to a three-year, $33 million contract this offseason.
Johnson and Jackson’s stops prevented the Chargers from getting seven points. The Broncos ended up winning by seven.
In the first half, Jackson had eight tackles and a forced fumble. Not too shabby.
“You got to give them their due this week. They played their butts off,” the head coach said about his defense after the game. “They really played really well. The defense deserves a big pat on the back.”
Vic, take some credit for yourself. The bold moves you made turned into the Broncos first win of the season.
