After a long week with an extra day of recovery, The Pats are now on a short week to prepare for the Denver Broncos. This game doesn’t feel like it has the last few years, partly because Peyton Manning is gone, and partly because the Broncos have certainly lost a step. The Patriots could knock the Broncos out of playoff contention so they’re fighting for their lives here. There is nothing I love more than being the spoiler for Denver this season so let’s get to it.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Denver Broncos, aka, “John Elway’s Free Agent Frenzy”
Week 15 at Denver Broncos
Sunday December 18
4:25 pm, CBS
Low 20’s (Patriot football weather), Minimal chance of precipitation, 6 mph winds
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Opponent/Patriots Stats:
Broncos: 8-5
Common Opponents:
- Houston Texans (Both teams won)
- Bengals (Both teams won)
History: The Broncos have played the spoiler for BB/TB12 as early as 2006 when the team knocked Brady and Co. out of the playoffs. Since 2012, the Patriots are 4-3 including playoffs against the Broncos. The last two matchups between the teams have been in Denver, and both of them are losses. The Broncos are also 2-1 versus the Patriots, ending their Super Bowl dreams twice.
Notable Players
Trevor Siemian QB: 230/376, 61.2%, 2,730 yds, 16 TDs, 7 INTs, 4 fumbles
Devontae Booker RB: 149 carries, 511 yds (3.4 avg), 3 TDs, 3 fumbles, 21 rec., 153 yds
Demaryius Thomas WR: 76 rec., 925 yds (12.2 avg), 5 TDs, 2 fumbles
Emmanuel Sanders WR: 75 rec., 958 yds, 12.8 avg, 5 TD, 1 fumble
Von Miller ED: 60 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 3 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles
Injury Alerts
Patriots
Danny Amendola is dealing with an ankle injury from the Rams game and it would be surprising to see him before the playoffs. Griff Whalen, of the infamous Colts fake punt, was signed to replace him so look for ‘Dola to be sitting until the playoffs.
Malcolm Butler came up lame when he got his ankle rolled up on in the second half. He ended up only missing one play, being replaced by Jonathan Jones, but Doug Kyed of NESN saw Butler limping in the locker room after the game. This could mean nothing more than he’s sore and got banged up, or he could secretly be severely injured and just insanely tough. See if he pops up at all on the injury report this week.
Broncos
Brandon Marshall, the Broncos starting MLB has been dealing with a hamstring injury that has put him out of commission against the Titans last week. Marshall is a versatile player with good size and speed. Look for him on the injury report this week.
Casey Kreiter is the teams long snapper dealing with a calf injury and was also inactive against the Titans. Broncos signed former Bears and Chiefs LS, Thomas Gafford so Kreiter can take his time in recovery. His availability probably won’t make a huge difference in this contest.
Key Matchups:
Patriots:
vs. WR1: 21st—– vs. Logan Ryan vs. Demaryius Thomas
vs. WR2: 19th—– Malcolm Butler vs. Emmanuel Sanders
vs. TE: 23rd– Kyle Van Noy vs. AJ Derby
vs. RB: 24th—– Pat Chung vs. Devonatae Booker
Broncos:
vs. WR1: 1st—– Julian Edelman vs. Aqib Talib
vs. WR2: 1st —– Malcolm Mitchell vs. Chris Harris Jr.
vs. TE: 5th —– Martellus Bennett vs. TJ Ward
vs. RB: 18th —– James White vs. Darian Stewart
What’s at stake?
The Patriots can clinch a first round bye with a win here in Denver, but cannot clinch home field throughout. They need to hold off the Chiefs in order to claim the #1 seed. The way this team is playing, that looks more likely by the day. The Broncos will need this win to stay alive so they’re fighting for their lives.
Early thoughts:
The Broncos have a great defense. They have a ton of talent with studs like Von Miller, Demarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, the list goes on. They have the ability to line up man to man to New England and handle their offense. The way you can exploit the Broncos is through our speedy pass catching RBs. Screens, and quick outs from the backfield can be very effective in slowing the pass rush. This could kick start the rest of the offense, open up holes for Blount and open up some zones for Brady. The OL had their best game of the year against the Ravens so lets hope they build on that and manhandle Denver right out of the playoffs.