GLENDALE
John Elway Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — The Denver Broncos can’t stop the run.So maybe the ground game will be the deciding factor when these two struggling teams meet on Thursday night.“I’ll tell you this – and I’m a firm believer in this – stopping the run and running the football allows a team to control the game depending on who is doing that the best,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said.Arizona (1-5) ranks dead last in the NFL in total offense and in rushing, averaging 64 yards per game on the ground. Denver (2-4) is last in rushing defense, allowing a whopping 161.3 yards per game.“We need to do a much better job up front as far as blocking, executing our assignments,” Cardinals coach Steve Wilks, then referring to running back David Johnson: “We need to move him around a little bit more. Try to find ways to get him out into space, different things right here to try to open it up some.”Denver has allowed 593 yards rushing in its last two games. Two of the opposing running backs, the New York Jets‘ Isaiah Crowell and the Los Angeles Rams‘ Todd Gurley, topped 200 yards rushing, something that’s never happened against the same team in NFL history.“We’ve had really two bad weeks, and it’s really with our nickel defense,” Joseph said. “We have to fix that and obviously play in more fronts and fix it that way.”The Cardinals aren’t good against the run, either. They rank 31st in the NFL, just ahead of Denver, giving up 151.2 yards per game. That could clear the way for the Broncos’ rookie running back tandem of Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, who have a combined four touchdowns and average 5.19 yards per carry.But Denver has relied more on the passing of Case Keenum than in the running game in recent weeks.The Cardinals will be without safety Tre Boston, who leads the team with three interceptions. He didn’t practice this week with shoulder and rib injuries.The Broncos have lost four straight, the latest a close home loss to the undefeated Rams. Arizona has beaten Denver only once in the 10-game history of the series.Here are some things to consider when the Broncos face the Cardinals:BEAT-UP LINESBoth teams are beaten up on the offensive line.The Broncos lost their best lineman, left guard Ronald Leary, to a torn Achilles tendon against the Rams.“You guys already know how good he is and what he brings to this team, and everyone in this locker room knows how important he is to our organization,” tackle Garett Bolles said. “Having someone like that go down is a tough situation and puts us in a tight spot.”Denver right tackle Jared Veldheer — a former Cardinal — will miss the game with a knee injury.Arizona left guard Mike Iupati is sidelined with a back injury that knocked him out of Sunday’s loss at Minnesota. Right guard Justin Pugh has his injured right hand in a cast-like wrap and plans to try to play Thursday.MIFFED MILLERVon Miller repeatedly promised that the Broncos would whoop the Cardinals. “I wouldn’t say it’s a must win
Shelby Harris Jersey ,” Miller said. “We’re going to kick their (behind), though. Make sure you put that up there. We’re going to kick their (behind).”Miller and rookie Bradley Chubb had 4½ sacks between them last week, but Miller insisted they hadn’t unlocked some sort of pass rush puzzle.“No, we just got on the board,” Miller said. “And if we’re playing our best, I don’t think there’s anybody in the league that can block me and Bradley. … Especially not the Cardinals. They’re going to get our best on Thursday. They got to come with their best.”UP-TEMPOThe Cardinals’ offense, under rookie quarterback Josh Rosen, showed some signs of life with an up-tempo game late against the Vikings. Expect to see more of it against Denver.“It was very effective for us. It’s something that we’ve got to definitely consider,” Wilks said. “It’s part of his comfort zone, based off college and the things he did back there. We’ve got to do everything we can right now to get this offense going in the right direction.”ELWAY’S CRITICISMBroncos general manager John Elway reprised his “soft” criticism he also used last year when discussing Denver’s run defense this week.Elway suggested the Broncos must realize that “we’re fighting for our lives” Thursday night.Asked if he interpreted that as fighting for his job, Joseph said, “Absolutely. And that’s every coach in this league every week. If you don’t feel that way, you’re missing something. If we were 5-1, I would feel that way. That doesn’t motivate me. I’m already motivated to win games and to fix our football team.”MCCOY’S HEATFor the second year in a row, Mike McCoy is feeling heat as an offensive coordinator.McCoy was fired by Joseph after 10 games with the Broncos last season. Now he’s facing severe criticism as offensive coordinator of the Cardinals.“We’re preparing like any other week,” McCoy said. “Our objective every week is to go out and win the next game that you’re playing. That’s our focus.” ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Although the schedule gets easier for the Denver Broncos this month, the degree of difficulty in reaching the playoffs keeps going up.The Broncos (6-6) lost leading wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to a ruptured left Achilles tendon on Wednesday. He was hurt in a non-contact drill at the beginning of practice.The 31-year-old receiver was placed on injured reserve and on Wednesday night he tweeted , “If you know me then you know nothing can keep me down. I’ve overcome too much in life to let this stop me. I’ll be back next year w/ a bigger chip on my shoulder … I PROMISE!”The Broncos quickly claimed wide receiver Andre Holmes off waivers from Buffalo, giving them a seventh-year veteran to go with their four remaining receivers, all of whom made their NFL debuts this season.Sanders, who led the team with 71 catches for 868 yards and four touchdowns in a bounce-back year, was injured on a routine route. He sensed the gravity of the injury as he crumbled to the ground
Peyton Manning Jersey , tearing off his helmet and rolling it away as teammates and trainers rushed toward him.“It didn’t look good,” coach Vance Joseph said, adding Sanders “was sore last week in his heel area and he felt great today.”Sanders’ injury was the latest blow to a team that’s lost seven starters from its opening-day lineup, including six on offense.“It hurt, especially with an Achilles injury, that’s a major injury,” rookie receiver DaeSean Hamilton said. “He was our leader and he was a coach, too, so it was hard to watch.”Sanders’ injury came three days after the Broncos lost star cornerback Chris Harris Jr . to a broken right lower leg, an injury that could sideline him for the rest of the regular season.Sanders crumbled to the grass in an area of the field that has several brown patches and has led to several slips over the last few weeks, notably by rookie receiver Courtland Sutton.Normally, the Broncos flip their two main practice fields from a north-south configuration to east-west at midseason, but they didn’t do that this year. Nor did they rotate individual drills, leaving bare patches in several areas.Asked if he thought field conditions played any role in Sanders’ injury, Joseph said, “I don’t, no. The fields are fine.”Sanders’ injury amplifies odds the Broncos face in their quest to reach the playoffs for the first time in the post-Peyton Manning era. After surviving the league’s most arduous schedule through November, the Broncos’ next three opponents — 49ers, Browns and Raiders — are a combined 9-26-1. They finish the season in Denver against the Chargers, a team they beat last month.“We can’t cry about it,” Joseph said. “We have to move on and go play a football game on Sunday.”Winners of three straight, the Broncos (6-6) visit San Francisco (2-10) this weekend.The Broncos traded top receiver Demaryius Thomas to the Texans on Oct. 30 for financial reasons and to accelerate Sutton’s growth by getting him into the starting lineup opposite Sanders. After flashing in training camp, Sutton has taken his lumps as a rookie. He has 28 receptions — but it’s taken 59 targets — for 558 yards and three touchdowns.Now
Drew Lock Denver Broncos Jersey , he’ll face No. 1 cornerbacks beginning with Richard Sherman in San Francisco.“I love it,” Sutton said. “I look forward to it. It’s going to be good.”Sanders developed a rapport with his new quarterback as soon as Case Keenum arrived in March, and the speedy receiver’s leadership only grew in value when Thomas was traded.Sanders helped bring along the young receivers simply by grabbing attention away from them, Keenum said, pointing to a 30-yard TD catch by Sutton in the Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Bengals last weekend.“Sometimes you run routes to get open and sometimes you run routes to get other guys open,” Keenum said. “The touchdown pass, the route may have been designed this past week for (Sanders), but just the way they covered him up allowed Courtland to be 1 on 1 on the outside.”Aside from Holmes, who has 15 touchdowns in 91 career games for the Bills, Cowboys and Raiders, the Broncos’ remaining receivers — Sutton, Hamilton, River Cracraft and Tim Patrick — boast a combined eight NFL starts with 37 catches for 692 yards and four touchdowns.“I have all the trust in the world in those other guys,” Keenum insisted.The Broncos’ best player on offense has been undrafted rookie running back Phillip Lindsay , who was the AFC’s offensive player of the week for his 157-yard, two-TD performance at Cincinnati.To prevent defenses from stacking the box to stop Lindsay, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave may have to relent and use Lindsay, along with running back Devontae Booker, more in the passing game.Keenum would be all for that.“We all know what Phillip can do with the ball in his hands in space,” Keenum said. “So, I think all of those backs — Royce (Freeman), too — they’re doing a great job of continuing to build their craft and not just being guys that run the ball between the tackles.”
