{"id":3153,"date":"2015-11-27T07:56:04","date_gmt":"2015-11-27T12:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=3153"},"modified":"2015-11-27T07:56:04","modified_gmt":"2015-11-27T12:56:04","slug":"patriots-broncos-who-has-the-razors-edge-key-matchups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/11\/27\/patriots-broncos-who-has-the-razors-edge-key-matchups\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots – Broncos Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor’s Edge?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> head out on the road to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football. This will be back-to-back night games on national television for the Pats having come off a short week and playing on Monday night.<\/p>\n

The game will be televised by NBC with their top announcing crew of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth on the call. The game will also be on the Patriots flagship radio station 98.5 The SportsHub with Bob Socci and Scott Zolak on the call. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

The Patriots (10-0) beat the Buffalo Bills 20-13 on Monday Night Football. Tom Brady threw for 277 yards and a touchdown despite being hit on 50 percent of his throws and missing many of his offensive weapons. The defense held Tyrod Taylor in check all night long and allowing the Bills to rush for only 3.1 yards per attempt.<\/p>\n

The Broncos (8-2) beat the Chicago Bears 17-15 on the road as QB Brock Osweiler starting in lieu of Peyton Manning had a very successful debut throwing for 250 yards and a pair of scores as the defense stuffed the Bears in the red zone all game long.<\/p>\n

We here at\u00a0PatsFans.com<\/a>\u00a0are continuing our \u00a0\u201cRazor\u2019s Edge\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 column in 2015 to give a quick break down on some of the key matchups of the game and what you can look for in how the game plays out.<\/p>\n

Series History:<\/strong>
\nThe Patriots and Broncos will meet for the 50th<\/sup> time in their history dating back to the early days of the AFL with Denver holding a 28-21 all-time series lead. Denver has traditionally been a tough place for the Patriots to win where Denver holds a sizeable 19-9 advantage including three playoff wins.<\/p>\n

The last meeting between the teams was in November of 2014 with the Patriots taking a 43-21 win in Foxboro.<\/p>\n

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor\u2019s Edge.<\/p>\n

First up is the Patriots offense:<\/p>\n

Patriots RBs vs Broncos Front Seven – <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge Denver
\n<\/em>The Patriots running game has suffered with the revolving door at the offensive line and the many different combinations they have had to utilize. LaGarrette Blount has been the main back and he\u2019s played well in 2015 but could see an uptick in his workload this week due to the WR injury epidemic.<\/p>\n

The Broncos allow only 93.7 yards per game on the ground with the 3-4 defense they operate in under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Their front three DL Sylvester Williams flanked by Derek Wolfe and Malik Jackson are good at the point of attack and allow an athletic group of linebackers to fly up and make plays.<\/p>\n

Look for the Patriots to run some traps designed at slowing down the pass rush this week right at the defense. The slower running plays to the outside won\u2019t work much given the athleticism of this defense.<\/p>\n

Patriots WRs vs Broncos Secondary – <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge Denver
\n<\/em>The myriad of injuries suffered by the Patriots offense seemed to finally catch up with the Patriots on Monday night. The offensive line was getting beaten on nearly every pass play as Brady was forced to throw far too many plays away as he was under duress all game long.<\/p>\n

Already missing Dion Lewis and Julian Edelman from the passing game, they lost Aaron Dobson to a season-ending ankle injury and Danny Amendola to a knee injury which will keep him out at least for this week. This leaves only two healthy wide receivers Brandon LaFell and rookie Chris Harper who was activated off the practice squad. Look for Matthew Slater the STs ace to play some WR this week.<\/p>\n

Denver has the #1 defense in the NFL against the pass and besides having the top secondary in the league boast an outstanding pass rush featuring DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller. Phillips loves to blitz and Denver leads the league in sacks with 34. Ware, suffering from a back injury may not be ready for this one having missed the past few games.<\/p>\n

Look for the Patriots to utilize more two and three tight end formations this week out of necessity. They just don\u2019t have the bodies to throw many wide receivers into the mix on the field. Keyshawn Martin who has been suffering from hamstring issues would be a nice addition but he\u2019s still limited. It is time for TE Scott Chandler to step up this week. He\u2019s been rarely utilized and has suffered from a case of the drops. He would take a lot of heat away from Rob Gronkowski who is bound to be the focus of the Denver defense.<\/p>\n

Next up the Denver offense:<\/p>\n

Broncos RBs vs NE Front Seven –\u00a0<\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>The Broncos run the zone blocking scheme that Gary Kubiak has used in his various stops in the league. They have been inconsistent although the past week\u2019s game in Chicago they doubled their production from the previous two games.<\/p>\n

Ronnie Hillman will be the guy to stop this week along with C.J. Anderson who has struggled for the most part this year after stepping up nicely for them in 2014. Hillman had his third 100-yard performance of the season on Sunday. Kubiak wants to run the football and with a new QB at the helm, having a strong running game is essential to his success.<\/p>\n

The Patriots defense has been outstanding against the run and is currently ranked 2nd<\/sup> in the NFLallowing only 88.8 yards per game. The tackle rotation with Alan Branch, Malcom Brown, Dominique Easley and Sealver Siliga has been stout at the point of attack. They\u2019ve stuffed teams at the line of scrimmage which has allowed the LBs to come up and make plays by attacking the gaps.<\/p>\n

This Broncos zone blocking scheme will be something different for the defense this week but the Pats have faced this before. It should be an interesting matchup to see how this one plays out. But the NE defense has shut down many other potent rushing attacks lately.<\/p>\n

Broncos WRs vs NE Secondary- <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>Osweiler is making just his second NFL start but played very impressively against the Bears. He got the Broncos tight ends heavily involved in the passing game hitting Vernon Davis and Owen Daniels on 137 of his 250 passing yards. He hit Demaryius Thomas for a 48-yard touchdown on the opening drive further bolstering his confidence. This week they should get back the dangerous Emmanuel Sanders which would give the Broncos an extra dimension in the passing game.<\/p>\n

The Patriots pass defense has been much better than anticipated in 2015. CBs Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan have been very solid and the pass rush from the front seven has been much improved. The rush will have to be on the mark this week with edge rushers Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard bringing heat on Osweiler this week who is mobile and can move around the pocket.<\/p>\n

The key here is without Jamie Collins again how well will the Pats cover the Denver tight ends? And with the third corner Justin Coleman expected to miss this week\u2019s tilt again, how will the Patriots defend that third WR option. Last week they pressed safeties Pat Chung and Tavon Wilson into 3rd<\/sup> CB duties. Against a very good group of Denver receivers that could spell trouble if Osweiler gets the time to find his third and fourth options in his progressions.<\/p>\n

Special Teams- <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>The Patriots have one of the best special teams units in the league with an outstanding pair of kickers in Stephen Gostkowski and Ryan Allen. Allen has a 41.2 yard net punting average with just one touchback on the year. Their coverage units are strong although they\u2019ll miss the punt return abilities of both Edelman and Amendola this week.<\/p>\n

The Broncos have a solid kicker in Brandon McManus who has a very strong leg as well as punter Brandon Colquitt who has a 40.5 net punting average with only two touchbacks this season. Their coverage units are solid and they have the dangerous Sanders back this week for punt returns.<\/p>\n

Next up, who wins and why\u2026<\/p>\n

Prediction:
\n<\/strong>This one was circled when the schedule was released as the Brady \u2013 Manning XVII matchup but injuries and poor play have sidelined Manning, perhaps for good in Denver. Osweiler may or may not be the QB of the future for the Broncos, but he\u2019s the QB of the present and his play will dictate how far this team can go in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re built for a Super Bowl run now and with a very good defense, Osweiler just needs to be efficient and not turn the ball over until he can find his way as a consistent NFL QB. Things will get harder for him once teams begin to get more film on his play. This week, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said, that the Pats are prepping for Osweiler but for Kubiak, going by tendencies in his offense because film is scarce on the Broncos signal caller. But one thing is for sure, the Broncos have a much better chance of winning with Osweiler at QB than Manning right now.<\/p>\n

With a full array of weapons, this one would be a no-brainer for Brady and the Patriots, but they don\u2019t have that\u2026not even close. I expect that Dave DeGuglielmo will get the issues on the OL ironed out, they\u2019re beginning to get healthier (to an extent) there, and should improve. But what about the receivers that Brady has to throw to?<\/p>\n

This is reminiscent of the 2013 AFC Championship Game in Denver where Brady was throwing to Slater, an aging Austin Collie and Matthew Mulligan. While perhaps not that dire, it has that type of feel coming in. One key to monitor is the penalties. Denver’s defense has been frequently flagged with many personal fouls and depending on how this plays out could result in drives being extended.<\/p>\n

This won\u2019t be the shootout we\u2019ve come to expect from these Brady \u2013 Manning matchups. This one will be more defensive oriented. The Patriots will need to generate some turnovers and big plays on STs to help the offense get some short fields this week. I\u2019ve been going back and forth on this one all week, but I think they stumble a bit on the mile high air in Colorado once again. Broncos 20-17<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The meeting was expected to be a typical Brady – Manning shootout when the schedule was released, but expect this one to be much more defensive oriented. The Patriots will have to be creative on offense with all the injuries against the Denver defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[185,607,34,132,598,37,615,18,603,147,277,204,606,614,16,17,24,15,44,8,38,270,329,247,248,117,36,219,608,13,602],"class_list":["post-3153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2015-nfl-season","tag-aqib-talib","tag-bill-belichick","tag-brandon-lafell","tag-brock-osweiler","tag-chandler-jones","tag-chris-harris","tag-danny-amendola","tag-demarcus-ware","tag-demaryius-thomas","tag-denver-broncos","tag-dion-lewis","tag-emmanuel-sanders","tag-gary-kubiak","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-julian-edelman","tag-lagarrette-blount","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-pats","tag-peyton-manning","tag-picks","tag-predictions","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-social-media","tag-t-j-ward","tag-tom-brady","tag-von-miller"],"yoast_head":"\nPatriots - Broncos Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor's Edge?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The meeting was expected to be a typical Brady - Manning shootout when the schedule was released, but expect this one to be much more defensive oriented. 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