The Denver Broncos improved to 4-3 after a one-sided 33-10 blowout victory over the New Orleans Saints on “Thursday Night Football.”
Here are four takeaways from the action:
Broncos leaned on potent rushing attack to breeze past Saints
The mission for the Broncos against the Saints was simple: run the football. As a team, Denver rushed for a season-high 225 yards against a hapless New Orleans defense, which was one of the deciding factors of the game.
Running back Javonte Williams did pretty much whatever he wanted, finishing with 88 yards (14 carries) while recording the first two-rushing TD game of his career. Meanwhile, QB Bo Nix threw for only 164 yards (16-of-26) but rushed for a career-high 75 yards (10 carries).
The Broncos had been searching for a run game all season, averaging 119.5 yards entering Week 7. They’ll have another chance to prove they’ve found it in Week 8, taking on the Carolina Panthers, who rank 30th against the run.
With offense stuck in impossible situation, Saints need more from fledgling defense
Facing a slew of injuries on offense, including QB Derek Carr and wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, the unit understandably struggled, posting only 271 yards of total offense for just 10 points. It’s hard to win if your team doesn’t score, but the Saints simply need more from their defense if they hope to stay above water in the NFC South.
It’s the second straight week the Saints have allowed an opponent to rush over 200 yards, giving up 277 yards to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.
Ranked 32nd against the run coming into Thursday night’s contest, the expectations weren’t terribly high for the Saints, even against the Broncos. But surely, they expected more facing a rookie-QB-led offense boasting the league’s 23rd-ranked rushing attack.
Vance Joseph’s defense in Denver continues to make strides
They weren’t facing a top QB, but the Broncos defense still took care of business on Thursday against a beat-up Saints team led by Spencer Rattler. According to Pro Football Focus, the unit finished with six sacks, two takeaways and a touchdown, allowing -7 rushing yards before contact.
It’s the fifth time over the last six games that the Broncos have allowed 20 points or fewer in a game.
After a Week 8 matchup against the Panthers, the real test begins for the defense, with contests ahead against the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons.
Dennis Allen may be on the chopping block sooner rather than later
After a 2-0 start, the Saints’ slide has been alarming. Injuries have played a significant role, but over the last three weeks, a lack of effort and attention to detail have plagued New Orleans, which are issues that fall squarely on the head coach.
The same negative attributes were displayed in Thursday night’s loss, whether costly penalties, missed tackles or a dropped interception. It’s difficult to say a team has quit on their head coach, but the vibe hasn’t gone unnoticed. Analyst and former Pro Bowl CB Richard Sherman said at halftime on the Amazon Prime Video broadcast that the Saints players looked like they “were trying to get their coach fired.”
The injuries the Saints are dealing with on offense are what they are, but the swift decline on the other side of the ball may be the biggest indictment of the head coach’s failures, considering he specializes in defense.
