With the team’s leading tackler, linebacker Wesley Woodyard, out with a knee injury Sunday, the Broncos were forced to make adjustments in their specialty packages on defense.
Woodyard is the team’s quickest linebacker in coverage and often is asked to cover backs and tight ends in the pattern. To replace him Sunday the Broncos could have gone a little lighter in the formation, adding a safety to the mix, but the risk would have been playing a lighter group against a Chiefs team that still is 10th in rushing despite the loss.
So, the Broncos took the risk of keeping middle linebacker Joe Mays – at 250 pounds – in the game when they went to five defensive backs and kept safety Brian Dawkins in as well.
Usually Mays leaves the field when the Broncos go to the nickel (five defensive backs) or dime (six defensive backs) and Woodyard comes into the game.
But with Mays in the middle of the field D.J. Williams was then asked to handle plenty of the coverage duties on the Chiefs’ running backs.
The Chiefs got the ball to those backs at times – running back Dexter McCluster finished with a team-leading six catches often with the much bigger Williams trying to track him down while fullback Le’Ron McClain had two catches, including a touchdown — and isolated Dawkins on some select plays.
But overall the Chiefs did not stick with those matchups and quarterback Matt Cassel did not throw with accuracy for much of the day. Cassel repeatedly kept trying to force the ball to Dwayne Bowe — Cassel tried to throw to Bowe seven times and McCluster had more pass attempts go his way — despite the fact the Broncos had put Champ Bailey on Bowe for most of the day.
The Broncos pass pressure – four sacks and plenty more hits – also enabled the Broncos to win their gamble.
