ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vic Fangio’s rolling with what works.
A day after making two bold changes along his defensive front seven that led to the Broncos first win on the season, the head coach announced that Alexander Johnson and Mike Purcell will remain in the starting lineup for at least another week.
“They both played well enough to continue,” Fangio stated on Monday.
Getting their respective first starts on the season, Johnson and Purcell both played well individually and were key pieces to the team only allowing two field goal drives for the entire game.
Purcell, a Colorado native getting his first start since 2016, played about the way Fangio expected him to play in the middle of Denver’s defensive line. Moving forward, the head coach wants to see the seven-year vet add range down the line and a “little” pass rush from the middle every now and then to become an every-down player.
The news of Purcell, the 6-foot-3, 328-pound run stuffer, maintaining his role doesn’t bode well for Adam Gotsis. The former second-round pick was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career on Sunday as the Broncos were looking to become more stout against the run.
After allowing 235 fewer rushing yards to the Chargers than what they allowed to the Jaguars just one week before, Gotsis could very well be looking for a spot on the sideline for a second-straight week.
“Well we keep 5 defensive lineman active,” Fangio said on Monday, explaining if Gotsis will be inactive moving forward. “Doesn’t have to be the same five every week and as we get into the game planning and checking the opponent out and seeing what we think we need and who the best five would be for the game, we’ll make that decision.”
Purcell taking over the middle of the defense line allowed Shelby Harris to kick back out to his natural position of defensive end. Harris had his best game of the season by far, including two passes defended at the line of scrimmage.
“He played pretty good at end,” Fangio stated. “Mike can play the run well from the nose tackle position and Shelby’s versatile so he can go out and play the end position. So that was the combination we went with.”
On Sunday, for a second-straight week, directly behind Purcell in Fangio’s defense will be Alexander Johnson. With Josey Jewell out against the Chargers nursing a hamstring injury, Johnson got his first-career start in the NFL.
And what a start it was.
The all-time leading tackler from Tennessee finished second on the team in tackles (nine), added two pass breakups, a tackle for a loss, an interception and a touchdown-saving tackle on the one-yard line.
“I had a feeling he would go in and play well yesterday,” Fangio, the linebacker guru, stated on Monday. “Now, was he perfect? You saw a lot of good plays, but the plays you didn’t notice, there was some accidents ready to happen that didn’t get exploited and he needs to clean those up.”
Johnson has the size, athleticism and productivity to play at the NFL level. So the question is, why did it take so long for him to get his first real shot? After all, he’s been on the team for over a year.
“He’s a young guy who needs to master his craft a little better, meaning assignment wise and details,” Fangio explained. “The worst thing you can sometimes do with a guy like that is get him in there too early for a lot of reasons. One, he might not be ready. And he might think he has it made. He needed to earn some stripes on the special teams and improve there.
“I always knew he was going to get in there somehow, someway because he does have talent,” Fangio added.
Up until Sunday, Johnson and Purcell each waited years for their opportunity to start in the NFL. Now, thanks to their own play, they’ll only have to wait a week for their next.
