Twelve things about the Broncos entering Sunday’s game against Cincinnati:
1. Rookie outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper in is line to make his fifth start because of Malik Reed’s COVID-19 absence. A seventh-round pick who was held out of the offseason program following multiple heart procedures, Cooper has played 372 defensive snaps and has 28 tackles. I’ve charted him for 15 pass-rush disruptions — two sacks, three knockdowns and 10 pressures — and five run “stuffs.”
2. Cooper said his biggest progress has been in, “knowing the game of football in general. The NFL speed of the game is pretty fast, but I feel like I’ve settled into it. The result is making more tackles.” His pass-rush game statistically has semi-stalled — two pressures in the last four games. “I’m constantly tinkering (with moves),” he told The Denver Post. “I feel I’ve improved my pass rush and itap looked good at times, but I feel I need to be more consistent.”
3. First up for Cooper and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb will be protecting the edges against Cincinnati’s run game. “Pass-rushing is what we want to do, right?” Cooper said. “But you can’t get there unless you stop the run first so that takes the main priority in every game. (Playing the run) is a necessary part of football.”
4. In last week’s win over Detroit, running back Melvin Gordon became the sixth player in NFL history with at least seven rushing touchdowns in six consecutive years, joining Jim Brown/LaDainian Tomlinson (nine years), Emmitt Smith/Adrian Peterson (seven) and Shaun Alexander (six). Brown, Tomlinson and Smith are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Because Javonte Williams is on his rookie contract, it would make sense to bring back Gordon if the price is right for the Broncos.
5. “I don’t know how anybody can underappreciate his ability,” coach Vic Fangio said of Gordon. “He’s run the ball very well for us for two years. We’re splitting time with him and Javonte and thatap not just to pacify Melvin — he’s a (darn) good player. I don’t know what people are looking at if they don’t have an appreciation for how Melvin runs the ball.”
6. Entering Sunday, Williams has 14 explosive carries (gain of at least 12 yards) and Gordon has 12, including two touchdowns (70 yards in Week 1 and 14 yards in Week 14). They account for 26 of the Broncos’ 29 explosive carries this year.
7. The Broncos’ 38-point effort against Detroit was only the fourth time since the start of 2016 that they reached that mark. They beat Dallas 42-17 in 2017, Arizona 45-10 in ’18 and Houston 38-24 in ’19. By comparison, during that span, Kansas City has reached 38 points in 15 games (13-2 record).
8. The Broncos have improved from 28th to 17th on third down over their last three games. They went 8 of 11 against the Chargers, 4 of 14 at Kansas City and 8 of 12 against Detroit. A key for the efficiency has been third-and-short. They are 10 of 13 when needing 1-3 yards. They had a season-low two third-and-long situations (at least eight yards to go) against the Lions.
9. Cincinnati, per my game charting, rushed five or more players on 11 of San Francisco’s 49 drop-backs last week and had five sacks. Trey Hendrickson extended his streak to nine consecutive games with a sack by rushing unblocked after an inside stunt. The Bengals used three four-man rushes and one five-man rush on their final four sacks.
10. The Broncos’ secondary had a costly bout of big-play-itis during their four-game losing streak, but have tightened things up since. During their losing skid, the Broncos allowed 24 explosive completions (gain of at least 16 yards), including a whopping 13 plays of at least 25 yards. In the six games since (4-2 record), they have allowed 15 explosive completions, including only seven of at least 25 yards.
11. “I just think we’re doing a better job with our technique and doing a better job as coaches,” Fangio said. “Anything that happens on the field, players and coaches have their finger-prints on it and we’re just doing a little bit better staying on top and being deep enough in our zones.”
12. The Bengals and Broncos have not hurt themselves by penalties. Cincinnati has committed the fewest penalties (42) and been penalized the fewest yards (553). The Broncos have the fifth-fewest penalties (65) and third-fewest penalty yards (355). The Bengals and Broncos draw referee Adrian Hill. His crew has called an average of 13.2 penalties per game this year.
