Watch this video at your peril, Broncos Country. Peyton Manning's receivers did him no favors versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, suffering seven drops, several of which prevented the Broncos from converting a single third down until deep into the second half.
The Broncos are adjusting by focusing on pass-catching in practice, and it's a welcome development.
#Broncos, after seven dropped passes in Sunday's win, WRs coach Tyke Tolbert broke out Combine gauntlet drill for the group in Wed. practice
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) January 20, 2016
Gary Kubiak admitted that the dropped passes was a point of emphasis at practice Wednesday.
"We did a lot of individual work. A lot of throwing and catching," said Kubiak. "The thing that we’ve done as a team when we’ve had issues like that is we’ve bounced back for those issues. I can think of a couple of times during the season we had the same situation and we came right back the next week and made those plays. That’s what this league is about.
"Those same guys that missed those few opportunities last week are the same guys that will have to make plays this weekend for us to have a successful weekend," Kubiak continued. "I believe in those guys. We just need to bounce back and they’re working hard at it."
Demaryius Thomas was straightforward, admitting that the Broncos will put in extra work. "I think as receivers, of course we've got to catch more passes after practice, before practice," Thomas said.
It's a problem that's plagued the Broncos - and particularly Thomas - for most of the season. Hopefully the extra work pays the pass-catching dividends they're looking for.
Poll
How confident are you in the Broncos' ability to recover from dropped passes vs. the Steelers?
This poll is closed
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10%
Not confident
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10%
A little confident
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21%
Somewhat confident
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31%
Mostly confident
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26%
100% confident