{"id":50246,"date":"2023-12-22T05:00:03","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T10:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=50246"},"modified":"2023-12-21T23:15:21","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T04:15:21","slug":"morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/","title":{"rendered":"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview – Denver Broncos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Playing a game with Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium is difficult for all teams in the NFL because of the altitude.\u00a0 Players tend to peter out at the end of games because they have trouble breathing.\u00a0 Surprisingly the Patriots have had a winning record (7-5) in the Brady era in Denver.\u00a0 It\u2019s not as much of a nightmare for the Patriots as I thought.\u00a0 I have been to a game in Denver and that light air is a real thing that a few days stay doesn\u2019t overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nOFFENSE 3WR 1TE<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSTARTER<\/strong><\/td>\n2ND<\/strong><\/td>\n3RD<\/strong><\/td>\n4TH<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
QB<\/td>\nRussell Wilson<\/td>\nJarrett Stidham<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RB<\/td>\nJavonte Williams<\/td>\nSamaje Perine<\/td>\nJaleel McLaughlin<\/td>\nDwayne Washington<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WR<\/td>\nCourtland Sutton<\/td>\nMarvin Mims<\/td>\nJalen Virgil IR<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WR<\/td>\nJerry Jeudy<\/td>\nBrandon Johnson<\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WR<\/td>\nLil’\u00a0Jordan Humphrey<\/td>\nTim Patrick IR<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TE<\/td>\nAdam Trautman<\/td>\nLucas Krull<\/td>\nChris Manhertz<\/td>\nNate Adkins<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FB<\/td>\nMichael Burton<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LT<\/td>\nGarett Bolles<\/td>\nCam\u00a0Fleming<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LG<\/td>\nBen Powers<\/td>\nQuinn Bailey<\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
C<\/td>\nLloyd Cushenberry<\/td>\nLuke Wattenberg<\/td>\nAlex Forsyth<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RG<\/td>\nQuinn Meinerz<\/td>\nLuke Wattenberg<\/td>\nQuinn Bailey<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RT<\/td>\nMike McGlinchey<\/td>\nCam\u00a0Fleming<\/td>\nAlex Palczewski\u00a0IR<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is a good coach worth in the NFL?\u00a0 The Broncos gave the New Orleans Saints a 1st<\/sup> round pick in 2023 (#29) and a 2nd<\/sup> Round Pick (currently #46) in 2024 for Sean Payton. \u00a0\u00a0That is a steep price to pay and sets the bar for any type of potential move for Bill Belichick.\u00a0 \u00a0Denver comes into Week 16 with a 7-7 record and are in the hunt for a playoff spot despite playing in the very tough AFC West Division.\u00a0 You get what you pay for.<\/p>\n

Russell Wilson has had a resurgence.\u00a0 He is ranked 18th<\/sup> by Pro Football Reference for QB Passing yards (2832) but is tied for 9th<\/sup> in completion percentage (66.3%).\u00a0 He has 24 TDs and 8 INTs.\u00a0 Old friend Jarrett Stidham is the backup.\u00a0 Wish we still had him!<\/p>\n

The Wide Receiver corps features Jerry Jeudy and Cortland Sutton.\u00a0 Both are frequently heard to be on the trading block.\u00a0 Sutton is a 2018 2nd<\/sup> Round (#40) pick out of SMU. \u00a0He leads the team in receptions with 58 on 85 targets for 770 yards (13.3 Avg), and 10 TDs.\u00a0 Sutton is a big receiver at 6\u20194\u201d 216lbs.\u00a0 \u00a0In 2019 Sutton was selected to the Pro Bowl.\u00a0 Jeudy at 6\u2019 1\u201d 193 lbs isn\u2019t small either.\u00a0 The 2020 1st<\/sup> round (#15) out of Alabama has 45 catches on 70 targets for 581 yards (12.9 avg) and just one TD.\u00a0 A player I liked in this year\u2019s draft was Marvin Mims.\u00a0 The Oklahoma rookie 2nd<\/sup> Round (#63) pick has 18 receptions on 28 targets for 298 yards (16.6 avg) and one TD.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t believe what I saw when the ESPN Depth Chart came out.\u00a0 It has former Patriot\u2019s Practice Squad player Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey listed as the #3 WR ahead of Mims.\u00a0 \u00a0Humphrey is more like a TE than WR.\u00a0 He has 11 catches on 14 targets for 93 yards and 2 TDs.\u00a0 When he was with the Patriots\u2019 he was a big Red Zone target.\u00a0 The 6\u20194\u201d 225 lb receiver out of Texas was a 2109 Undrafted Free Agent. \u00a0For his career he has 5 TDs on his 29 receptions.<\/p>\n

At running back, the Broncos have Javonte Williams as the lead back with Samaje Perine as the backup and third down receiving back.\u00a0 In recent weeks, Perine is getting more touches and a higher yards per carry average.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Last week Perine averaged 6.2 yards per carry as opposed to Williams 2.3 ypc.\u00a0 Williams was drafted in 2021 in the 2nd<\/sup> round (#35) out of North Carolina.\u00a0 This season Williams has run 182 times for 677yards (3.7 avg) and 1 TD.\u00a0 Given the Patriots stingy run defense this year (currently 2nd<\/sup> best per Pro Football Database in Yards Per Game), it would appear to be difficult for Williams to find any running room.\u00a0 Perine is a nice change of pace running back.\u00a0 He helped Cincinnati on their Playoff run last year backing up Joe Mixon and as a third down back.\u00a0 For Denver he has 45 carries for 219 yards and a 4.9 avg but just one TD.\u00a0 His value is as a receiver.\u00a0 In that capacity he is an extremely reliable pass catcher with 41 receptions on 45 targets, 389 yards and 9.5 YPC but 0 TDs.\u00a0 He was a 2017 4th<\/sup> round (#114) selection for Washington out of Oklahoma and the 7 year veteran is valued member of the offense.\u00a0 Jaleel McLaughlin is also having a good year with 58 carries for 323 yards (5.6 YPC) and 1 TD.<\/p>\n

At Tight End the Broncos have 4 players listed.\u00a0 Adam Trautman is the #1 TE in the absence of Greg Dulcich who is out for the year with hamstring problems.\u00a0 This is a lingering injury going back to last year and he has had 4 injuries to his hamstring muscles. Trautman has 20 catches on 32 targets, for 174 yards (8.7 YPC) and 3 TDs.\u00a0 Lucas Krull, Chris Manertz and Nate Adkins are the other three.\u00a0 None of the three have had a significant positive impact.<\/p>\n

On the Offensive line Denver has one of my favorite players, OG Quinn \u201cGut\u201d Meinerz.\u00a0 If you have read my off-season player profiles leading up the draft, you know how glowing my reports on this D III sensation was.\u00a0 Meinerz received an invitation to the Senior Bowl despite not having a season in 2020 due to COVID. \u00a0The two-time D III All-American played for Wisconsion-Whitewater.\u00a0 All he did at the Senior Bowl practices was dominate every D-lineman he lined up against.\u00a0 The scouts wanted to see if he could play Center, a position he had never played in college.\u00a0 Meinerz self-taught himself how to play Center and shotgun snap.\u00a0 I had a big disagreement with Evan Lazar of Patriots.com about Meinerz, whom he claimed could only play Center.\u00a0 The Patriots should have drafted him, and he would have solved their problems at Right Guard with the departure of Ted Karras.\u00a0 Meinerz was a 2021 3rd<\/sup> round (#98) pick that ended up as the Broncos starter before his rookie season ended.\u00a0 He has been in the lineup ever since and is rated at the #2 rated Guard in the league by PFF.\u00a0 Left Tackle has Garrett Boles, a 2017 1st<\/sup> round (#20) pick from Utah.\u00a0 He played two years of football at Snow College, a junior college in Utah before playing just 1 year at Utah.\u00a0 Bolles is an older player because of his LDS Mission.\u00a0 He is now 31 and was named 2nd<\/sup> team All-Pro in 2020.\u00a0 Left Guard has another good player in Ben Powers.\u00a0 A Baltimore Ravens 2019 4th<\/sup> round (#123) pick out of Oklahoma, Powers signed on as a Free Agent this year with Denver.\u00a0 He is a big Guard at 6\u2019 4\u201d 338 lbs., and ranked #38 by Pro Football Focus, as compared to Cole Strange at # 28.\u00a0 At Center is veteran Lloyd Cushenberry.\u00a0 The LSU alum was drafted in 2020 by Denver in the 3rd<\/sup> round (#83).\u00a0 At 6\u20194\u201d 315 lbs he is a big Center.\u00a0 PFF ranks him as #9 as compared to David Andrews at #11.\u00a0 Cushenberry is a pending Free Agent in 2024.\u00a0 His projected contract would be 4 years and $47M with $34 M guaranteed. \u00a0Over his career, he started as a rookie in the opening game and missed 9 games last year.\u00a0 Right Tackle is Mike McGlinchey the former 1st<\/sup> Round (#9) pick out of Notre Dame.\u00a0 The monstrous McGlinchey is 6\u2019 8\u201d and 315 lbs.\u00a0 PFF has him ranked 44th<\/sup> among Tackles.\u00a0 Mike Owenu is #34 and Trent Brown is 6th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nDEFENSE Base 3-4 D<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSTARTER<\/strong><\/td>\n2ND<\/strong><\/td>\n3RD<\/strong><\/td>\n4TH<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LDE<\/td>\nJonathan\u00a0Harris<\/td>\nMatt Henningsen<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NT<\/td>\nD.J. Jones<\/td>\nMike Purcell<\/td>\nEyioma Uwazurike\u00a0SUSP<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RDE<\/td>\nZach\u00a0Allen<\/td>\nElijah Garcia<\/td>\n<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WLB<\/td>\nNik Bonitto\u00a0Q<\/td>\nThomas Incoom<\/td>\n<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LILB<\/td>\nAlex Singleton<\/td>\nJustin Strnad<\/td>\nJonas Griffith\u00a0IR<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RILB<\/td>\nJosey Jewell<\/td>\nDrew\u00a0Sanders<\/td>\nBen Niemann<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SLB<\/td>\nBaron\u00a0Browning<\/td>\nJonathon\u00a0Cooper<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LCB<\/td>\nPat Surtain II<\/td>\nDamarri Mathis<\/td>\nTremon\u00a0Smith<\/td>\nK’Waun\u00a0Williams IR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SS<\/td>\nKareem\u00a0Jackson<\/td>\nP.J. Locke<\/td>\nJL Skinner<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FS<\/td>\nJustin Simmons<\/td>\nDelarrin\u00a0Turner-Yell<\/td>\nCaden Sterns\u00a0IR<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RCB<\/td>\nFabian\u00a0Moreau<\/td>\nJa’Quan McMillian<\/td>\nRiley\u00a0Moss<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s rush Defense is dead last in the league.\u00a0 Their Pass Defense is only mediocre at #16.\u00a0 I have no idea how Denver is 7-7 and still in the hunt for a playoff spot?<\/p>\n

Jonathan Harris manning the LDE position.\u00a0 In a 3-4 defense, Harris is listed as a DT and has 43 tackles on the season.\u00a0 \u00a0Harris came into the league as an Undrafted Free Agent by the Chicago Bears in 2019.\u00a0 He is 6\u20195\u201d and weighs 295 lbs.\u00a0 Physically he is comparable to Detrich Wise.\u00a0 Nose Tackle is DJ Jones was a 2017 6th<\/sup> Round (#198) selection by San Francisco.\u00a0 He played his college ball at Ole Miss.\u00a0 At only 6\u2019 and 305 lbs. the stout NT can be moved easily.\u00a0 He has 34 tackles this season.\u00a0 Right Defensive Zach Allen leads the DL with 5 sacks.\u00a0 He has added 49 tackles.\u00a0 The former Boston College Eagle was a 2019 3rd<\/sup> round (#65) selection by Denver.<\/p>\n

The linebackers are always a strength of a 3-4 defense.\u00a0 Nick Bonitto leads the backers in sacks with 7.\u00a0 He is listed as Questionable for Sunday\u2019s contest.\u00a0 If he can\u2019t go Thomas Incoom may take his place. \u00a0\u00a0The top three tacklers on the defense are linebackers.\u00a0 Alex Singleton leads the team with an incredible 141 tackles.\u00a0 \u00a0His is a great story, Undrafted out of Montana State in 2015 he was originally signed by Seattle by waived before the start of the season.\u00a0 The Patriots signed him to the Practice Squad only to release him 10 days later (mistake).\u00a0 In 2016 he was drafted in the 1st<\/sup> round (#6) by Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, and he went on to win the Defensive MVP, Best Canadian Player, and Most Outstanding Player awards for his 2017 season.\u00a0 He followed that up by winning the awards again in 2018.\u00a0 The Philadelphia Eagles came calling and he played three years for them.\u00a0 In 2022 he signed on with Denver and has exploded this season. \u00a0\u00a0Josey Jewell is second on the team with 87 tackles.\u00a0 He was drafted by Denver in the 2018 draft, 4th<\/sup> Round (#106) out of Iowa. He will be a Free Agent after this season.\u00a0 Jonathan Cooper is third on the team in tackles with 65 and 6.5 sacks.\u00a0 He is listed as the backup, but obviously he is seeing a lot of playing time, especially on third down.\u00a0 In the 2021 draft he was taken in the 7th<\/sup> Round (#239) by Denver. He played his college ball at Ohio State. Baron Browning is the starter and had chipped in with 21 tackles and 3.5 sacks.\u00a0 He was also taken in the 2021 draft by Denver, 3rd<\/sup> round (#105) and is another Ohio State grad.\u00a0 They have a good young group of linebackers.<\/p>\n

The secondary features Pat Surtain II at LCB.\u00a0 He has 10 Pass Breakups this year to go along with 53 tackles (5th<\/sup> on the team).\u00a0 \u00a0Denver selected him in the 1st<\/sup> Round (#9) of the 2021 draft.\u00a0 The Alabama alum was an All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection last season. He is ranked 38th<\/sup> by PFF but he is a player opponents need to be aware of.\u00a0 Free Safety Justin Simmons out of Boston College was a 2016 3rd<\/sup> round (#98) pick.\u00a0 He is fourth on the team with 56 tackles, 8 Pass Breakups and 3 INTs. \u00a0\u00a0Simmons is ranked 54th<\/sup> by PFF.\u00a0 I think both Simmons and Surtain are ranked much lower than they should be.\u00a0 SS Kareem Jackson is ranked 39th<\/sup> by PFF.\u00a0 Jackson is coming off a suspension for lowering his head to hit a defenseless receiver.\u00a0 PJ Locke has been playing well in his stead and Hed Coach Sean Payton has not determined if Jackson will start ahead of Locke.\u00a0 Jackson was a 2010 1st<\/sup> Round pick (#20) out of Alabama.\u00a0 Jackson is 35 and old for an NFL Safety.\u00a0 Fabian Moreau a tough corner out of UCLA is the on the other side.\u00a0 He is very fast (4.35 40) and has good makeup speed if he does get beat.\u00a0 His 6.94 3-cone drill indicated he is good at changing direction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nSpecial Teams<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nSTARTER<\/strong><\/td>\n2ND<\/strong><\/td>\n3RD<\/strong><\/td>\n4TH<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PK<\/td>\nWil Lutz<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
P<\/td>\nRiley Dixon<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
H<\/td>\nRiley Dixon<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PR<\/td>\nMarvin Mims<\/td>\nTremon\u00a0Smith<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
KR<\/td>\nMarvin Mims<\/td>\nJaleel McLaughlin<\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LS<\/td>\nMitchell Fraboni<\/td>\n<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Placekicker Wil Lutz is one of the best kickers in the league.\u00a0 He ranks #9 overall and has scored 106 points. Lutz is very consistent, having made 25 of 27 Extra Points and 27 of 29 Field Goals. \u00a0One of his misses was beyond 5o yards.<\/p>\n

Punter Riley Dixon is 11th<\/sup> on the league and benefits from the thin air in Denver.\u00a0 I am interested in seeing what Bryce Baringer will do kicking at altitude.\u00a0 Baringer has set a team record by kicking at least one punt for over 50 yards in 14 straight games.\u00a0 He is ranked #3 in the league and might be on his way to a Pro Bowl selection.<\/p>\n

Kick Returner Marvin Mims is ranked 25th<\/sup> in the league.\u00a0 He does have a 99-yard kickoff return to his credit.\u00a0 If he hadn\u2019t made that return, his overall numbers would have been much worse.<\/p>\n

Mitchell Fraboni handles the long snapping.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t know his name or see him highlighted on TV, then he is probably doing a good job!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Playing a game with Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium is difficult for all teams in the NFL because of the altitude.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":50160,"comment_status":"open","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":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview - Denver Broncos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Playing a game with Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium is difficult for all teams in the NFL because of the altitude.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview - Denver Broncos | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Playing a game with Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium is difficult for all teams in the NFL because of the altitude.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-22T10:00:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg?fit=2530%2C1687&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2530\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1687\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Morse\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@patsfans\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@patsfans\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Morse\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/db6ff3fd6d44db4d259b674785ea2167\"},\"headline\":\"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview – Denver Broncos\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-22T10:00:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2146,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Patriots News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/\",\"name\":\"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview - Denver Broncos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-22T10:00:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Playing a game with Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium is difficult for all teams in the NFL because of the altitude.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg\",\"width\":2530,\"height\":1687,\"caption\":\"Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/22\\\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Patriots News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/patriots-news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview – Denver Broncos\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"description\":\"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"PatsFans.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/patsfans\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@patsfans.official\"],\"foundingDate\":\"2000-06-17\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/db6ff3fd6d44db4d259b674785ea2167\",\"name\":\"Mark Morse\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/edac4d42d2c985795df98560d6b4a8771bc8502406d21e7a8ee977393412af3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/edac4d42d2c985795df98560d6b4a8771bc8502406d21e7a8ee977393412af3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/edac4d42d2c985795df98560d6b4a8771bc8502406d21e7a8ee977393412af3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Morse\"},\"description\":\"Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob \u201cHarpo\u201d Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/markmorse5\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview - Denver Broncos","description":"Playing a game with Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium is difficult for all teams in the NFL because of the altitude.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview - Denver Broncos | PatsFans.com","og_description":"Playing a game with Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium is difficult for all teams in the NFL because of the altitude.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/","og_site_name":"PatsFans.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","article_published_time":"2023-12-22T10:00:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2530,"height":1687,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg?fit=2530%2C1687&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mark Morse","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@patsfans","twitter_site":"@patsfans","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark Morse","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/db6ff3fd6d44db4d259b674785ea2167"},"headline":"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview – Denver Broncos","datePublished":"2023-12-22T10:00:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/"},"wordCount":2146,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg","articleSection":["Patriots News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/","name":"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview - Denver Broncos","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg","datePublished":"2023-12-22T10:00:03+00:00","description":"Playing a game with Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium is difficult for all teams in the NFL because of the altitude.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg","width":2530,"height":1687,"caption":"Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2023\/12\/22\/morse-week-16-patriots-preview-denver-broncos\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Patriots News","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/category\/patriots-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"MORSE: Week 16 Patriots Preview – Denver Broncos"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","name":"PatsFans.com","description":"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization","name":"PatsFans.com","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"PatsFans.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","https:\/\/x.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/patsfans\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@patsfans.official"],"foundingDate":"2000-06-17"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/db6ff3fd6d44db4d259b674785ea2167","name":"Mark Morse","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/edac4d42d2c985795df98560d6b4a8771bc8502406d21e7a8ee977393412af3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/edac4d42d2c985795df98560d6b4a8771bc8502406d21e7a8ee977393412af3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/edac4d42d2c985795df98560d6b4a8771bc8502406d21e7a8ee977393412af3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Morse"},"description":"Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob \u201cHarpo\u201d Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/author\/markmorse5\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/USATSI_22126924_168390408_lowres.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50246"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50250,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50246\/revisions\/50250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}