The fact that there were fans and analysts who truly believed the Denver Broncos could march into Philadelphia and knock off the NFL’s best team is as confusing as it is admirable. While most could have assumed that a Brock Osweiler-led offense would struggle against the Eagles’ top-notch defense, very few could have expected the Broncos defense to completely melt down against Carson Wentz and the Eagles.
The Broncos’ 51-23 blowout loss not only sinks the team to 3-5 on the season, but at long last the Broncos’ famed defense appears to have reached a breaking point.
To say Wentz had his way with the “No Fly Zone” is an absolute understatement. Wentz, a candidate for the NFL MVP award sliced the defense apart like a hot knife through butter. Wentz finished his big game with only 199 passing yards, but tossed four touchdowns as the Eagles piled on 51 points in front of a roaring home crowd.
Wentz exploited mismatches along the Broncos’ defense all afternoon, choosing to target wide receiver Alshon Jeffery despite lining up primarily against No. 1 cornerback Aqib Talib. Coming off of an All-Pro 2016 season, Talib had one of his worst games as a Bronco, as Jeffery tallied eight catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns. On the Eagles’ first score of the game, Talib was fooled on a play-action pass as Jeffery cruised right by him for an easy score.
Talib wasn’t the only member of the secondary at fault for the defense’s collapse, as once again the Broncos were unable to defend against opposing tight ends. Even with Eagles’ star tight end Zach Ertz injured for the game, the Eagles backup combination of Trey Burton and Brent Celek abused the Broncos’ secondary for a combined 80 yards and a touchdown. Burton found a hole in the coverage between linebacker Brandon Marshall and safety Darian Stewart in the second quarter, at the time stretching Philadelphia’s lead to 24-6.
With an offense that has failed to put up consistent points on the board all season, a poor defensive showing kept the game out of reach for the majority of the afternoon. Whether Trevor Siemian or Brock Osweiler started the game, it likely did not matter as the offense has not scored close to 51 points all season.
Next week, the Broncos return home to face the New England Patriots. As the team appears to be searching desperately for answers on offense, it seems that now they must repair their defense as well.