Denver Broncos Week 9 Recap - Broncos Sleepwalk Through Win Over Top-Ranked Texans Defense

Another 4th-quarter comeback for Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos, who are now 4-0 when trailing in the 4th quarter this season. This is Denver's third win of the year in games where they had a win probability of less than 20% entering the fourth quarter. Outscoring opponents during the 4th quarter 86-20 in their last five games during their current six-game win streak. With this win over Houston, the Broncos improve their record in one-score games this year to 5-2, a big turnaround from their 1-6 record last year. On the other side of the ball, the Texans drop to 3-5 on the season, with four of their five losses coming in one-score games. The Broncos are leaders of the AFC West for the first time since 2015, when they won the Super Bowl. The Texans now sit at third in the AFC South with a 23% probability to make the playoffs. 

Bend, don't break. That is what the Denver Broncos live by this season: they don't care about how many yards your offense has at the end of the day. They are too strong in the middle to overpower at the goalline, and they are too disciplined to fool with a gadget/trick play. Houston entered the game as the 31st-ranked red zone offense, going up against Denver's number one red zone defense, and this game was a perfect display of these records holding true. Houston had the ball inside Denver's one-yard line and walked away with three points after trying to power it in three times and being stopped by Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga each time. On Houston's next drive, CJ Stroud was injured after hitting the back of his helmet against the turf in a collision with Kris Abrams-Draine. The play was flagged initially for the hit on Stroud, but the review clearly showed a late slide, followed by a legal hit, and no penalty was enforced. On the Texans very next drive, backup quarterback Davis Mills led the offense to the Broncos two-yard line, only to be driven back again and settle for another field goal. Houston finished the day 0/3 in the red zone and didn't manage to score a single touchdown in the game, the fourth Denver opponent this year to be held out of the endzone. Denver lost the field position battle for most of the game, but when they did find themselves in Houston territory, they capitalized. Bo Nix had two passing touchdowns of over twenty-five yards in Houston territory and ran the offense to perfection to get the ball across midfield and into range for Lutz's game-winner. 

The game is won and lost on third down. This is what many coaches believe, and it translates to converting third downs on offense, getting off the field on defense. The Texans abysmal performance in the red zone was matched only by their production on third down, where they went 3 of 17. Denver was able to keep them behind the sticks by limiting their rushing attack to just 2.8 yards per carry. Mills was effective in short passing scenarios, getting the ball out quicker than the Broncos pass rush could handle for most of the game, but as a result was not moving the ball well, not pushing the field, and caused their own run game to collapse by allowing Hufanga to play near the line of scrimmage more throughout the game. Zach Allen allowed no room for anything inside, having one of his best games I've seen, making his presence especially known to the quarterback, whoever it was for the Texans on Sunday, even getting a sack and a half on Stroud in his limited playtime. In the end, Allen ended the game for the Texans offense by rushing Mills off his platform on third down and forcing a punt that was the nail in the coffin. 

Without Surtain, the Broncos played the least amount of man coverage they have all season (27%), a strategy that fits well against the Texans offensive scheme that features many crossing routes. Dre Greenlaw played in his second game as a Bronco and made his impact early on with a sack and a major contribution on the Broncos goalline stand. His presence provided a much-needed burst in the Broncos run defense, where they shut the Texans down and dominated the middle of the field defensively. Another free agent addition from San Francisco, Talanoa Hufanga had one of his best games as a Bronco. Hufanga continues to make plays all over the field like a drone, he is swatting passes down at the line, breaking up catches thirty yards downfield, and blowing up runs at the goalline. He is playing at an all-pro level right now, and once Surtain comes back, Moss and Barron should be iron sharp from their time in elevated roles, this defense should be firing on all cylinders come January. 

On Offense, Denver struggled expectedly against a tough defense, but not the kind of struggling we saw last year. The run game was actually effective with Dobbins, he averaged 6 ypc to start the game, but only got four carries in the first half. Dobbins continues to carve his name in as the Broncos workhorse, and this game emphasized what roles each running back plays in this offense. Harvey was the team's leading receiver, getting most of his work on the Broncos final few drives on designed checkdowns, but also scored on Nix's second touchdown of the day on a 27-yard wheel route. Sean Payton said in his post-game press conference that "the Texans ran a similar coverage with their linebackers against us two years ago and sat in the same defense today", the only difference being RJ Harvey this time around. Fellow rookie Pat Bryant continued to impress after his touchdown performance last week, converting two huge third downs in the fourth quarter. Between the dirty work he handles in the run game and his soft hands in crucial scenarios, Bryant is playing up to his third-round value. A fourth-rounder a year ago, Troy Franklin is starting to look like Bo Nix's favorite target. He had his second game with 10 targets in three weeks, and he was the designated target on Denver's key two-point conversion. Receiver Marvin Mims returned to practice this Tuesday after missing Sunday's game due to a concussion. His impact was missed especially on special teams, where his replacement, Michael Bandy, muffed a punt to give the Texans three points, almost costing them the game. The one bright spot on special teams was Jeremy Crawshaw, who continues to be amazing at flipping the field and is playing in direct contribution with our defense. Wil Lutz also shone with a game-winner, extending his game-winning field goals to 14/16 under Sean Payton. 

The Broncos will look to prioritize rest on a short week where they host the Raiders in a Thursday Night divisonal matchup. Read below for more on that matchup...