Denver Bronco snap analysis game 8 2022

Offense

Four of the five guys who started on the offensive line played all 61 snaps on offense, but this was the first time that THIS starting five has started a game this season.

• Calvin Anderson LT
• Dalton Risner LG
• Lloyd Cushenberry III C
• Quinn Meinerz RG
• Billy Turner RT

With the exception of Garett Bolles being out, this was the OL that was supposed to be the starting OL, but only Risner and Cushenberry have started every game. Meinerz has started four. Anderson has started two. Turner has started two and Graham Glasgow has started four.

There will be an article dropping later on today about how the offense actually played better after LC3 got hurt late in the second quarter. It makes you wonder if LC3 has been the weakest link on the OL all along and whether or not Glasgow should have displaced him at center sooner. GG played 34 snaps at center which are his first snaps at center for the Broncos. LC3 played 27 before his injury.

Offensive line injuries and ineffectiveness (overall instability) is nothing new for the Broncos. I wrote about it earlier this year.

Luke Wattenberg got his first offensive snap in the NFL. He was used on the 2-yd TD run. This was only the second time this season where the Broncos have used six offensive lineman on a play. Both times were on goal line runs. Both plays resulted in TDs.

Greg Dulcich played 49 snaps (80 percent). Eric Tomlinson had the next highest snap count among the TEs with 18. Eric Saubert only got 10. TE/FB, Andrew Beck played 9 snaps. Only Dulcich was targetted in the passing game, but he was targetted five times and caught four of them.

The running back snaps were split fairly evenly between Melvin Gordon (34) and Latavius Murray (27).

Courtland Sutton played 58 snaps to lead the WR group. Jerry Jeudy played 52 and KJ Hamler played 43. Tim Jenkins pointed out how Hamler’s mere presence on the field is critical for opening up the offense for the rest of the receivers. Sunday’s game was the Hamler’s season high in offensive snap percentage. Montrell Washington played three snaps and Kendall Hinton one.

Defense

Five defenders played every defensive snap: Josey Jewell, Damarri Mathis, Kareem Jackson, Patrick Surtain II and Justin Simmons. So our entire starting secondary and our every down ILB played every defensive snap.

Our two-down ILB, Jonas Griffith played half of them - 36.

Our defensive line guys had Dre’Mont Jones playing 55, DJ Jones 46, DeShawn Williams 33, Mike Purcell 30 and Matt Henningsen 20.

Bradley Chubb played his final 51 snaps for the Broncos this season at OLB. The other OLB snaps were taken by by Nik Bonitto (42), Jonathan Cooper (36) and Jonathan Kongbo (15). Bonitto probably had his best game so far in terms of pass rushing with a sack, two pressures and a forced fumble, but he continues to be a liability in run defense.

The only defensive player who played significantly on defense that has not yet been mentioned is K’Waun Williams who played a masterful game despite playing with a cast on his right arm. Williams played 48 snaps. PJ Locke and Michael Ojemudia both played one defensive snap each.