The Broncos’ bye week is all about evaluation and attacking the season’s final stretch with their best punch. Denver’s offensive line will receive a lot of reflection, especially at right tackle, which may be a prime position for a change.
An underrated move that helped the Broncos’ offense slow down the Saints’ penetration in the second half of their 25-23 win Sunday was benching right tackle Donald Stephenson for .
Kubiak wouldn’t say whether Stephenson will remain at right tackle, but he was effusive in his praise of Sambrailo.
“Ty deserves to play more. So he’s going to play,” Broncos coach said. “Are we going to play six or seven guys? That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now. But Ty is fixing to play a lot more football. He did a good job.”
Stephenson, who left the Chiefs and signed a three-year, $14 million contract last offseason to join the Broncos, had his worst game of the season, struggling to block Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan.
Like much of the season, Stephenson wasn’t the only offensive linemen struggling, but his performance, including being run over and ran by, caused the coaches to make the in-game switch.
There aren’t many options available for the Broncos so they’ll rely on internal improvements.
“We studied all day and night last night as coaches,” Kubiak said. “We tried to present to the players: here are some things that you do well and here are some things that we don’t do well. … We have to play better up front. We have at times, but we’re looking for consistency as a group.”
