Before last week’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Denver Broncos hadn’t seen a deadly passing attack like Trevor Siemian displayed since Peyton Manning in Week 11 of the 2014 season.
After almost a two-year hiatus between excellent performances through the air, the Broncos hope to not wait that long until the next one. In fact, the Broncos could be poised for another big air strike this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Starting right guard Max Garcia said that because the Broncos can run and pass the ball effectively, they will attack a team’s weakness, and last week was a perfect example.
“Obviously last week we had to adjust and we threw the ball more,” Garcia said. “Whatever it takes to win the game that’s what we are going to do. It doesn’t really matter, and we will stick with what works and get the win.”
The Buccaneers, 1-2, enter Week 4 last in points allowed (33.6 points per game) allowing opponents to score 24, 40 and 37 points. The Broncos, 3-0, are coming off of their best offensive performance of the year, putting up 29 points on the Bengals on the road and earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for Siemian.
Although teams have had no problem scoring against the Buccaneers as a whole, their run defense has been much more stout than their pass defense — an area which the Broncos will look to exploit two weeks in a row.
Led by their two best defensive players, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and linebacker Lavonte David, Tampa Bay’s run defense ranks in the top third of the league in yards per carry (3.5) and first downs allowed on the ground (14). While McCoy and David are both very good at playing the run and pass, they both excel at stopping the run, too. Garcia said McCoy is the best defensive lineman that the Broncos have faced this year.
“[McCoy is] very elusive. He does well in the run and pass. I don’t think he has a weakness,” Garcia said. “We are going to have to account for him at all times and go out there and play Bronco football.”
Although the Broncos may be met with some difficulty running the ball against the Buccaneers defense, the offense shouldn’t have any problem moving the ball through the air. Even though Tampa Bay is a top third defense against the run, they are a bottom third defense against the pass, giving up over 7.8 yards per pass attempt (sixth worst), seven touchdowns (fourth worst) and only one interception (second worst).
Not only that, but the Buccaneers are coming off of a performance where they gave up 37 points to the Los Angeles Rams who had a combined 9 points in their first two games.
While the Buccaneers defense is trending down, the Broncos offense is heating up, specifically the passing offense.
Last week against the Bengals, Siemian set career marks, albeit it was only his third career start, throwing for 312 yards, four touchdowns, zero zero and posting a quarterback rating of 132.1 against what was supposed to be a very solid Bengals defense. This Sunday, against the Buccaneers, Siemian may very well have the opportunity to air the ball out just as much, if not more, to take advantage of the Buccaneers pass defense.
Head coach Gary Kubiak has the utmost confidence in Siemian and has no hesitation putting the ball in his hands on Sunday.
“Just want [Siemian] to be consistent for our football team and keep working, and he’s showing those signs of that on a daily basis,” Kubiak said. “This week is another tough test, I like the way he has things together.”
The running game primarily carried the offense through the first two weeks of the season averaging 141 rushing yards. However, last week the passing game took over and led the Broncos offense to victory.
“[Against the Bengals] We threw the ball down the field because of how we got played. It has to do with how you get played,” Kubiak said. “It has a lot to do with how you are being defended and what you are doing.”
If the Broncos want to continue to prove that they can be an elite offense in this league they will need to continue to prove that they can take over a game both rushing and passing. In Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay, Siemian and the passing offense will have an excellent opportunity to once again show that they are a legitimate threat in this league.
