1st and 15 Midfield
Result: Pass, Dillon, play action, screen left, 9 yds., pass thrown under pressure.
Offense: 3 WR, Givens wide right, Watson left slot (in motion from wide left), Branch wide left, Graham TE down off RT, Dillon lone RB.
Defense: 4-2-5 nickel, S Ferguson showing blitz right wing, both CBs 5 yards off, NB pressure coverage following Watson in motion.
Blocking: Ashworth rides a DE wide
Mankins chips a DT inside before coming out and pivoting for position on the LLB, but is only able to get a push, allowing that LB to chase Dillon off the screen and make the tackle downfield
Hochstein tries to corral a DT but breaks off seeing the RLB blitzing through, with ultimately both defenders getting to Brady, forcing the throw, and Hochstein left chasing the play
Neal is manhandled quickly with a quick move from a DT, who is one of many rushers in Brady’s face
Gorin is able to hold his DE fairly well with only some penetration
Graham picks up the blitzing S Ferguson
Analysis: Funny how the referees can spot a miniscule false start but ignore a Bronco DE, over Gorin, lunging forward early and still clearly being in the neutral zone on the snap. Heck, you could even call the “unnatural act to get the offense to false start” on him! What’s not funny is how on one play, Dillon has some nice blocking and can run free, but on the next, containment of a defender is a near-impossible task. I’m calling this a play action, just because of Brady’s spinning motion to Dillon, who stopped shortly thereafter before going out on the screen, but it wasn’t the traditional fake. It’s also possible Brady ran into Dillon, who might not have known of the play action. Brady had to throw off his back foot, but the pass was still perfect to the emergency man, Dillon. Neal showed his usual hustle racing down with Dillon, but there were DBs swarming towards Dillon even before the tackle was made. They also would have stopped the play if Mankins to get position on the LLB Gold.
2nd and 6 Den 41
Result: Run, Faulk, up the middle, 4 yds.
Offense: 2 WR, Givens wide right, Branch wide left, 2 TE down off RT, Faulk lone RB.
Defense: 4-2-5 nickel, S Brandon showing blitz right wing, S Ferguson creeping up to the line left wing, both CBs 5 yards off.
Blocking: Ashworth holds a DT on the edge
Mankins spins around before getting tackled to the ground by a DE
Hochstein comes out and seals a DE just off the line, left
Neal drives a DT left and out of the hole
Gorin spins around, chasing the overpursuing RLB
Graham slides a DE inside, where that DE, for whatever reason, jumps on Mankins back and drives him into the ground (C. Brown though, not Ekuban, who Mankins gave the punch to)
Watson holds the S Brandon on the edge
Analysis: The LLB Gold and S Ferguson were waiting for Faulk in the hole. Lynch wasn’t far behind. Mankins should have come out through the hole and taken care of Gold, but he felt like playing ballerina this fine January night.
3rd and 2 Den 37
Result: Run, Faulk, right tackle, 1 yd.
Offense: 4 WR, Davis wide left, Watson – Givens – Branch stack right wing, Faulk lone RB.
Defense: 4-1-6 dime, Wilson, Lynch, and Brandon off the line as basically linebackers, all 3 CBs 5 yards off the line.
Blocking: Ashworth steps inside too wide but is able to recover and hold the DE on the edge
Mankins pulls right and slams Lynch right and out of Faulk’s ‘hole’
Hochstein loses control of his DT when Neal slides left into Hochstein’s way, and that DT will come over to the run but is pushed away by Watson
Neal drives his DT left and out of the ‘hole’
Gorin, with the help of Watson, gets a DE to his knees and away from the run
Watson chips Gorin’s DE but it’s already too late to block the LB Wilson and S Brandon coming in on the tackle
Givens blocks the NB 10 yards downfield of the run, allowing the S Brandon to come in on the tackle
Branch and Davisblock their CBs
Analysis: 3rd down…1 yard to go…where’s Dillon?!? Brady would set up in the shotgun, but come up and make adjustments before coming under center. I really have to question the playcalling here. They didn’t trick the Broncos. Plain and simple. If you’re going to go for the first down running, get Dillon in there and get him some blockers. If you’re going to go for the first down passing, keep a blocker or two in and spread it out. Faulk had no chance on this play, even with a 3 WR stack on the right side of the line. The OL blocking was close to perfect, but Watson was useless. Wilson and Brandon simply clogged the hole unblocked, quickly taking Faulk down. Branch and Givens had their assignments, but they allowed the two closer tacklers to get to Faulk. Watson had the assignment to chip Gorin’s DE, but that had him coming out too late to make a lead block for Faulk – all it would have took for a first.
4th and 1 Den 36
Result: Pass, Fauria, Incomplete, 5 yard out, pass thrown behind Fauria and under pressure.
Offense: Shotgun 5 WR, Watson wide left (in motion from left wing), Givens left slot (in motion from wide left), Fauria left wing, Faulk right slot (in motion from backfield), Branch wide right.
Defense: 4-1-6 dime, DE Brown stands up to pressure coverage left wing, LB Wilson and S Lynch showing blitz right wing, CB over Givens pressure coverage, other 3 CBs 5 yards off.
Blocking: Ashworth was in the process of being beat outside by the DE when Brady was forced to throw quickly
Mankins and Hochstein hold the NT
Neal picks up a DE but was also in the process of being beat inside
Gorin picks up the blitzing LB and drives him into the ground
Coverage: Davisgoes deep, drawing a CB
Givens takes a short out, drawing a CB
Fauria takes a short out and beats the DE Brown, but the pass is thrown too far behind Fauria, and even a turn-back and dive couldn’t help it.
Branch takes a short hook underneath a CB, but Lynch would have been in the way of the throw
Faulk goes deep, drawing a CB
Analysis: The Pats came out in a 2 WR set before changing it up into a 5 WR set. The Broncos would blitz 5, but because of the double team on the NT, Lynch was free to come in on Brady. A noticeably hasty throw was made by Brady, who was knocked by Lynch into Ashworth, sending Brady to the ground. How long did Brady have? About a second and a half. Why did Brady have a big smile (at least it looks like it) on his face while butting facemasks with Lynch immediately after the play? I’ll leave that up to you.
Score: New England 0 – Denver 0