Ten things about the Broncos and Baltimore Ravens entering Sunday’s game:
1. A win over Baltimore would give Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a four-game winning streak for the third time in his career; he won five straight for Minnesota in 2015 and New Orleans in ’19. Bridgewater ranks second in the NFL with a 76.8 completion rate (73 of 95). If he reaches at least 75% against the Ravens, he will become the sixth quarterback in NFL history to reach that mark in four consecutive games. The first five: Kurt Warner (St. Louis, ’01-02), Carson Palmer (Cincinnati, ’04-05), Tom Brady (New England, ’07), Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay, ’14-15) and Alex Smith (Kansas City, ’16-17).
2. Helping Bridgewater’s completion rate is his accuracy on short-to-intermediate passes. Per The Denver Postap game charting, he is 44-of-47 passing (not counting throwaways) on attempts that travel 1-10 “air” yards — 14 of 16 at the Giants, 18 of 20 at Jacksonville and 11 of 11 vs. the Jets. When going downfield (at least 16 “air” yards), Bridgewater is 12 of 21 for 256 yards.
3. A hallmark of the Baltimore defense is exotic pressures — it may rush four, but the offense is guessing where the four players are coming from. And when the Ravens rush five, it could be safeties or nickel backs. My charting has Bridgewater 18 of 22 for 234 yards and three touchdowns against extra rushers.
4. Rookie Pat Surtain II will play his third game as the outside cornerback because of Ronald Darby’s hamstring injury. In man coverage against Jacksonville and the New York Jets, quarterbacks are 7-of-12 passing for 65 yards and one interception against Surtain.
5. “Patap making a lot of progress,” defensive backs coach Christian Parker said. “The thing with Pat, he’s understanding the importance of the process during the week — the film preparation, his technique, how to attack different receivers and quarterbacks and the looks they’re giving him. The more NFL snaps he gets, the more coordinators and quarterbacks and receivers he goes against, the more comfortable he’ll get. He’s still a young guy so a lot of the time, it is the first time he’s seeing things.”
6. The keyboard Twitter jockeys who were doubting outside linebacker Von Miller throughout the offseason are now all-aboard the Miller Train and got particularly brave after No. 58 was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month on Thursday. Their target? Me. I disagreed with the Broncos’ decision to exercise Miller’s 2021 option (team-high $22.125 million salary cap hit), instead suggesting a complete divorce or an extended contract in-line with his production and age. Fourteen games remain. One person asked me why I hadn’t deleted the March tweet calling general manager George Paton’s move a “big mistake.” Why would I do that? Anybody who has an opinion should always stand by it.
7. Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell, the pride of Denver South, returns to town two years after his Jaguars beat the Broncos as time expired. The 35-year-old has eight tackles in three games and is eight sacks away from 100 for his career. “It just kind of brings you back to the days when (playing in the NFL) was just a dream and (now) itap Year 14,” Campbell told the Baltimore media. “Itap pretty cool. Itap pretty surreal.”
8. Ja’Wuan James’ Broncos career (three games over two years) ended after he tore his Achilles while training away from the team’s facility on May 14. Baltimore signed him to a two-year contract on June 10. “Itap probably too early to tell (if James will play this year) for sure,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We haven’t really had that conversation yet. I’m looking forward to the day when he can get out there and play.”
9. One more Ravens update: Defensive end Derek Wolfe, who played eight years for the Broncos (33 sacks in 108 games) hasn’t played this year because of back and hip injuries. “Derek had a great year for us last year,” Harbaugh said. “We had a lot of injuries in the D-line at the end and he just played lights-out football. I always felt like he was a guy you’d love to have on your team and he hasn’t disappointed us. … We’re very hopeful that he’ll be back soon and helping us.”
10. Fullback/tight end Andrew Beck on Fangio’s new schedule (players in Mondays, off Tuesdays). “I’m a huge fan of that. It gets us in to analyze the game from (Sunday) and make sure everybody’s bodies are feeling good, but then we get Tuesday to rest and recuperate and get ready to focus on the upcoming week.”
