The Good and the Bad from the Denver Broncos Win Over the Kansas City Chiefs

Sep 14, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) catches a pass during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos are not playing very well two games into the 2014 season and they must improve if they are going to accomplish their ultimate goal. The good news is this; despite not playing well, the Broncos are 2-0 and obviously have plenty of room for improvement.

As a reminder the Broncos did beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday; I know it doesn’t feel that way but they did.

Here’s what I liked (not much) and what I didn’t (a lot):

What I liked:

• Demaryius Thomas: The Broncos wide receiver had a nice bounce back game after struggling through the opener. Thomas caught every ball that was on target and had a spectacular catch for a touchdown.

• Peyton Manning: Manning has six touchdowns and no interceptions through the first two games. His throws appear to have a little more zip this season.

 What I didn’t like:

• Defense: This is the obvious one and we’ll get into more specifics, trust me. They could not get off of the field on third downs and gave up far too many third and longs. It’s inexcusable to give up a third and 18 at the beginning of the second half. The Broncos were on the verge of blowing the game open and that single play led to a 10 minute drive. It didn’t result in any points but that drive set the tone for the second half.

• Pass rush: Or lack of a pass rush. Sunday marked the second straight game that the Broncos faced a beat up offensive line and got virtually no pressure on Alex Smith. If the Broncos defense is going to by the type of defense it needs to be, then they have to do a much better job of getting to the quarterback. It’s on everyone but both Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware must play better.

• Defensive penalties: If the Broncos defense would have committed half the penalties that they did on Sunday, it never would have come down to that last drive. An offsides on Quanterus Smith took away a great play by cornerback Aqib Talib that would have ended the game. The Broncos also kept several Chief’s drives alive with stupid penalties.

• Running game: Outside of a 29 yard run by Montee Ball that was more due to the Chiefs inept defense on that play, the Broncos did not run the ball well at all. They are never going to average 150 yards a game with Manning at quarterback, but it has to be at least a threat and right now it’s not.

• Offensive line: The pass blocking is ok, not great but ok. The run blocking is awful at this point. Some of the blame falls to Ball and CJ Anderson but they are getting no help from the offensive line. The Broncos also need to run the ball from under center more; running out of the shotgun just does not lend itself to developing a physical offensive line. It’s probably too late now, but it’s an ongoing mistake not to have a fullback on the roster.

• Lack of offensive production in the 2^nd half: In all honesty, a lot of this is also on the defense. It’s really hard to get into a rhythm when your defense is giving up ten minute drives. Having said that, the offense could have squashed the Chiefs momentum with a single touchdown drive in the second half. Then when they did have a first and goal inside the ten in the fourth quarter, the Broncos failed to punch it in. A touchdown there puts the Broncos up 11 with three minutes to go, and the game is over. The offense has been great in the first half through two games; it’s been terrible in the second half. They can help their defense if they put together a complete football game.

Now before we all go jumping off the deep end as I’m sure they are on talk radio (I no longer listen and I find that I enjoy sports a whole lot more), let’s take a step back. Yes the Broncos need to do a lot of things better but they are 2-0. I still believe the defense will get better as they get used to playing with one another, and both Chris Harris and Miller should be better by midseason coming off of their respective ACL injuries.

The Seattle Seahawks are next and we’ll get into that as the week goes on, but I never believed the Broncos were going to win in Seattle in the first place. It’s a tough place to play and very few teams go in there and win.

My goal for the Broncos was to be 2-1 at the bye week and they’ve done at least that. I want to see the Broncos play well and compete in Seattle but if they go up and lose a hard-fought game, then that can be a positive going forward.

In the end, it’s not a bad thing to be 2-0 and have plenty of room to get better.