NEW ORLEANS — A late-arriving Saints crowd did little to extinguish the buzz and importance of the Broncos-Saints showdown.
Denver’s defense will try to slow down Drew Brees and the Saints’ high-powered offense without two of their top defenders, defensive end Derek Wolfe and cornerback Aqib Talib.
Running back Juwan Thompson, quarterback Austin Davis, guards Connor McGovern and Billy Turner and cornerback Taurean Nixon completed the Broncos inactive group.
Both Wolfe and Talib were ruled out on Friday. Of the healthy scratches, Thompson being inactive is the only mild surprise. The Broncos will go with two running backs — Devontae Booker and Kapri Bibbs — to carry the load. Booker will start, but Bibbs is expected to receive an increase share of the workload Sunday after his strong play last week.
Fullback Andy Janovich is still wearing a club on his broken right hand, which will likely limit his ability to carry or catch the football Sunday. He’s expecting the get out of the cast when the Broncos return for the bye.
Receiver Cody Latimer is active for the first time in four games as the Broncos are keeping all six receivers active.
Cornerback Kayvon Webster is active after missing last week’s loss to Oakland with a hamstring injury. His return will boost a cornerback group, which will have to cope with the loss of Talib against an elite passing attack.
Veteran defensive end Billy Winn will get his first start of the season in place of Wolfe. Rookie defensive end Adam Gotsis is expected to receive the most action he’s seen all season as he helps . The Broncos’ run defense has and will need to improve to stop the Saints’ power backs Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower.
Wolfe and Talib were on the field during pregame stretches helping encourage their teammates and give tips to their replacements. The Broncos are hopeful both will return after the bye, but they will be missed Sunday.
If the Broncos hope to avoid their fourth loss in six games, they’ll need to win in the trenches on both sides of the ball running well and stopping the run. They had the ball for an NFL nonovertime low of 18:32 last Sunday against Oakland and they’ll need to have far better ball control to maintain pace with the Saints.
The Broncos will leave New Orleans and go into their bye week with either a 7-3 record and 6-4 record, which feel like completely different ends of the optimism spectrum.
