There was pressure on Peyton Manning to win yesterday’s game. One can say the same thing for Broncos head coach John Fox. Both are tied together when it comes to success and failure with this year’s Broncos.
Had the Broncos lost yesterday, Manning and Fox would receive criticism about their inability to win when it ends. Who knows if Fox would have been back as head coach if that event occurred?
The Broncos head coach doesn’t have to worry about it. He is one game away from going to the Super Bowl as a result of the great coaching job he and his staff did in the Broncos’ 24-17 divisional playoff victory over the Chargers yesterday afternoon at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
The defensive game plan was effective, and it was a reason the Broncos won this game. The Broncos blitzed Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers early and often to start the game. He was rattled to the point he expressed his frustration in the first quarter. He was skittish for most of the first half after he was sacked three times.
It was clear the blitzing set the tone to Rivers. It was a far cry from December when the mouthy Chargers quarterback had an easy time throwing to the Broncos secondary. It was different from the last regular season meeting when Rivers was able to be a mobile quarterback.
Rivers threw better in the second half, but that was a result of Chris Harris Jr. being injured in the game. Nevertheless, it was the type of tone the Broncos had to deliver defensively.
It’s surprising why the Broncos don’t blitz often. They have the guys to do it in Wesley Woodyard, Shaun Phillips, Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan. That’s an effective way for the Broncos to have success defensively.
Good thing Fox and Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio finally blitzed. It was something they had to do for them to win the game yesterday. It’s something they need to do on Sunday when the Broncos face Tom Brady. To get to the future Hall of Fame quarterback, they need to get him rattled and frustrated. It’s feasible this unit can get it done.
Maybe the Broncos finally found something to make the defense effective. If they stick to this game plan, they can have success next week. It’s something they should duplicate. Like the saying goes if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
This game plan showed Fox and Del Rio had the team prepared in playing yesterday afternoon based on how the Broncos executed defensively.
Fox and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase did well in calling a good game offensively. They utilized the running game to help the passing game.
It worked out well with Montee Ball getting couple of first downs, and this helped Manning throw a short touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in giving the Broncos a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Broncos did it again in the second quarter touchdown drive that featured Knowshon Moreno and Ball running to help set up another short touchdown pass to Wes Welker. That gave them a 14-0 lead.
With the Broncos holding on to a 24-17 lead late in the fourth quarter, they stayed with the same formula by using the running game to milk the clock and then throwing for first downs. That strategy worked out well with Manning throwing to an open Julius Thomas couple of times. That was enough to prevent Rivers and his unit from going back on the field to muster a comeback for the Chargers.
There were critics who wondered why Fox turned conservative late, but it turned out he knew what he was doing. He stayed with what worked all game long. There was no reason for him to deviate by running the ball exclusively to get the clock expired. He knows the offense is good enough where he can trust his quarterback to throw at third down.
Considering how multidimensional the Broncos were offensively this season, it would have been surprising if the Broncos coaching staff did not create a balance on offense. This was not going to be a problem yesterday.
Fox and his staff should take a bow for coaching a great game yesterday. In football, coaching plays a role in winning games by making decisions. Everything worked according to plan.
Last year wasn’t the case for Fox. For whatever reason, he told Manning to take a knee in last year’s playoff game rather than attempt a game-winning play. It was surprising since Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco torched the Broncos secondary all season long. It would have been smart to go for it rather than let the Ravens quarterback beat the Broncos again.
Also, it was befuddling Fox would use the running game last year in the playoff loss to the Ravens when the running backs were ineffective.
The Broncos coach needed this one after bungling last year’s playoff loss.
Whether he will admit it or not, he knew deep down he had to deliver in putting the Broncos in a position to succeed.
Fox’s next trick is to do it again next week.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter.
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
