Denver Broncos Stifling Defense Swarms Luck, Colts

The Denver Broncos defense continues to be masterful en route to a 34-20 Broncos victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

After Andrew Luck’s record-breaking contract extension this offseason, it became his goal to bring an underwhelming roster back to the playoffs.

But this roster is very underwhelming. The defense, already full of holes, continues to pile up on the injured list, turning many Colts games into shootouts. Playing in the weak AFC South helps him despite improvements from each squad over the summer.

But with a defense like Denver’s, Luck completely collapsed. He finished 21/40 for 197 yards and one touchdown with an interception. With a passer rating of 64.3, this easily became one of Luck’s worst career games.

This Denver team is very resemblant of last year’s Super Bowl winning squad. The offense only contributed one touchdown, Brandon McManus had a field day, and the defense made clutch plays sealing a victory. It’s the same formula that worked last year.

Trevor Siemian had a purely mediocre game. He made good throws with bad throws, but like Manning last year did just enough to win. CJ Anderson remains the focal point of the offense with 93 yards from scrimmage and the lone offensive touchdown. Denver fans had a sigh of relief when Demaryius Thomas played through his nagging injury to turn in a 5 catch, 90-yard day including a 44-yard sprint.

But defense is king in Mile High. In a league where the quarterback is the most important position, the Broncos have now dominated two elite quarterbacks. Cam Newton looked scared from the intimidating defense (and the tough hits he felt from them), while they later punished Luck for careless plays. Aquib Talib picked off Luck and took it to the house 46 yards later while Von Miller stripped Luck for a fumble-six that put the game away for good.