After a disappointing season opener loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Denver Broncos return home to face off against the Houston Texans. Bronco fans are incredibly excited to see quarterback Russell Wilson make his home debut at Empower Field at Mile High.
It's a massive game for the Denver Broncos; not a single team last year that started the season 0-2 made the playoffs. According to the ESPN football power index, the Broncos are favored by 75.9%. The only way the Broncos can lose this game is if they beat themselves.
Denver is going up against a damaged franchise in Houston that traded away their star quarterback DeShaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns. Now with Davis Mills at the helm of the offense, his skills are nowhere near comparable to Watson or Wilson. Yes, he has some growing pains, but he is an adequate quarterback who has played two seasons with the Texans and thrown 2,904 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Defensively the Broncos have the edge; Mills is known for misfiring on outside throws, and with a defense that has shown they can be disruptive and dynamic against the Seahawks in the second half in week one. They will look to resemble that performance from now on.
Defensive Adjustment
One thing to watch on the Broncos defense is sophomore safety Caden Stern will be filling in for an injured Justin Simmons, who suffered a thigh injury vs. the Seattle Seahawks.
Sterns has grown as a safety since his rookie season. He has displayed the ability to disrupt passes and pick off balls thrown his way. He has some big shoes to fill but has accepted the challenge and is ready for the opportunity.
Sterns- "We kind of rotate during training camp, I guess for purposes like this, so I'm looking forward to it," Sterns said. "I'm ready. I'm as ready as I was last year, it's the same thing this year. It's an opportunity to make plays, so I'm pretty excited for it."
Offensive Adjustments
Russell Wilson and the offensive did not look up to pare in week one. They will look to ignite their weapons early and make the necessary adjustments to get a much anticipated high-powered offense rolling.
Wilson and the Broncos shot themselves in the foot in week one by playing it safe out the gate and only putting up 13 points in the first half.
Turnovers and penalties killed the Broncos, fumbling the ball twice in the endzone and racking up 12 penalties for over 100 yards. Football is a game of inches, and mistakes like this can cost you the game. A 4th and five resulted in Brandon Mcmanus missing a 64-yard field goal.
New Additions
With KJ Hamler ruled out vs. the Texans with a knee injury. Wide receiver Kendall Hinton has been upgraded to the receiving unit and is expected to play big minutes for the Broncos today. In week one, the Broncos struggled to score in the red zone. However, with his football IQ, Hinton can impact the game by making plays near the red zone.
Quinn Meinerz has also been added to the injury report with a hamstring injury. In addition, Netane Muti has been upgraded to the blocking unit.
In week one, the Broncos beat themselves by making in-game mistakes and being inexperienced in the coaching unit. In only the second week of the season, Denver looks to right their wrongs and take command of its season.