Network Bar

San Diego at Denver - Comcast Red Zone Report

by John Bena on Nov 22, 2009 12:58 AM MST in 2009 Denver Broncos Game Previews

This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL RedZone channel. Want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations? Then you need Comcast's NFL RedZone.

If we are going to have a sponsorship deal, we might as well find a way to incorporate said sponsorship into something that is near and dear to Broncos fans - the team's performance in the Red Zone. This has been a key point of contention for a long time with Denver - take last year into account - 2nd in Yards, 16th in points.

Each week we'll take a look at the Broncos' trips into the Red Zone and how they fared. Good teams, playoffs teams, score in the Red Zone. If the Broncos want to be a playoff team, they'll need to as well.

There are two sides to the Red Zone - the offensive side, of course, and the defensive side. Few people look at how a defense performs when backed up in their own Red Zone but it is vital to the success of the team, no doubt. We'll look at both.

The Broncos are in a slump, having lost 3 in a row. None of that matters much as the Chargers come to town. This game will likely be won by the team that can take advantage of each and every opportunity to score 7 points. Anything over 50% as an offense is acceptable - neither team has been this season.

Overall in 2009, the Broncos look like this -

'09 OFFENSE TOTALS

WEEK	OPPONENT	RZ EFFICIENCY
1	@ CIN	0/0
2	vs. CLE	2/4
3	@ OAK	2/6
4	vs. DAL	1/2
5	vs. NEP	2/3
6	@ SD	2/4
8	@ BAL	1/1
9	vs. PIT	0/0
10	@ WAS	0/1
	TOTALS	10/21 (47.6%)

DEFENSE

For the season, the Broncos' Defense is one of the best in football inside its own Red Zone -

'09 DEFENSE TOTALS

WEEK	OPPONENT	RZ EFFICIENCY
1	@ CIN	1/2
2	Vs. CLE	0/1
3	@ OAK	0/1
4	Vs. DAL	1/3
5	Vs. NEP	2/2
6	@ SD	1/2
8	@ BAL	1/3
9	vs. PIT	3/4
10	@ WAS	2/4
	TOTALS	11/22(50.0%)

The offense has gone down, while the defense has allowed 5 of the last 8 trips inside the Red Zone to score TDs. Both trends need to stop on Sunday.

As for the Chargers?.

Offensively, San Diego has converted 48.1% of their Red Zone chances, a number that is good for 21st in the NFL.

On defense, San Diego has held opponents to 56.3%. The Chargers rank 23rd in the NFL and the Broncos need to take advantage - 7 instead of 3 when either team gets in the Red Zone will be the difference.

Tweet Comment 2 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Even if it's all Defensive scores and Retuns for touchdowns...

I want to get a victory this week. With the KC and OAK records it is obvious the Division Race is between us and SD. If we can sweep them, than we’ll have the tie breaker (though I REALLY hope it doesn’t get that close!)

We’ve got to ORANGE CRUSH THEM!

ORANGE CRUSH! ... need I say more?

by USMCWall on Nov 22, 2009 3:04 AM MST reply actions