Every year there are certain games that teams circle on the schedule. These can be rivalry games, meaningful out-of-conference games, or revenge games. While we might say otherwise, offensive linemen also pay attention to the specific defensive lines that they’ll be facing off against over the course of a season. Certain games will take more time and intensity to prepare for. Certain players are cause for a heightened concern. Certain schemes are harder to play against.
If I was on the Denver Broncos offensive line, these are the games I would be most focused on heading into camp. And I’ll be listing these units in order of when Denver is playing them.
Most of this article in concerned with the defense’s ability in the passing game, but I do touch on some aspects of the run game as well.
Seattle Seahawks – Week 1
Right off the bat the Broncos will have to handle a formidable front unit. It is a completely different group compared to when Denver played Seattle in 2022; not just the players but the defensive scheme has been tweaked as well with former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald taking over.
The Seahawks’ will likely run a 3-4 defense as that is what Macdonald ran in Baltimore. Macdonald’s scheme consists of tons of simulated pressures, pre snap motions, and formations that change pre and post-snap. And it’s not just the simulated pressure Denver’s offensive line will have to worry about because Macdonald loves to send an extra rusher most of the time.
This will put a heavy mental strain one Denver’s line, but luckily they’ll have an entire offseason to prep for it and, for the most part, they won’t have to deal with the issue of getting accustomed to playing with each other like they did last year. There will be a new center, but they won’t have to deal with replacing a guard and right tackle. The center will be responsible for making proper protection calls, so whoever ends up the starter will have a meaningful amount of pressure right from the start.
Personnel wise, EDGE Derick Hall and DT Leonard Williams will likely be the focus points. Hall is coming off of a quality rookie season that featured 18 tackles and five QB hits. and he’s a promising young talent playing as both an off and on-ball linebacker. Williams totaled 5.5 sacks last year with four of those coming as a Seahawk after he was traded to Seattle seven games into the season. He is a dangerous and quick player on the inside.
And while I don’t think the Seahawks will be one of the top-5 hardest defenses Denver will face, I have them on this list due to the defense they run and their position on the schedule.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Week 3
The Bucs are an interesting team. They finished near the bottom last year in total defense, but they ranked top-5 in rushing yards and top-10 in points. Many people may overlook them, but Tampa Bay has a solid defense that is lead by one of the better defensive coordinators in the game with Todd Bowles.
Last year Bowles’ defense mostly consisted of a four man front with a linebacker playing on or close to the line of scrimmage on the strong side. He really liked to send pressure with a handful of looks to it. Two of his most common blitzes featured an outside rusher or a defensive end dropping into coverage with a backer filling his spot. The best example of Bowles’ pressure packages was in Tampa Bay’s Wild Card game against the Eagles.
Compared to the Seahawks, Tampa’s pressure scheme is mentally easier to handle as there is less going on, but Tampa has, in my opinion, the better pass rushers so this will be a more difficult matchup in terms of one-on-one blocks across the board.
Baltimore Ravens – Week 9
Now, given the first entry, we know that the Ravens will be attempting to fill a Mike MacDonald-sized hole, but they are already on the right track. Their new defensive coordinator is Zach Orr, who has essentially spent his entire career with Baltimore. He played for them from 2014-16, was a defensive analyst from 2017-20, spent a year in Jacksonville, and them came back as a linebacker coach from 2022-23, and is now the new DC. He has spent years under MacDonald, and plans on carrying on with the same defensive scheme. One that attempts to create and control chaos.
Baltimore was able to keep together a large majority of their roster, and their defensive leaders are among those that stayed. They did lose Patrick Queen to the Steelers and Jadeveon Clowney to the Panthers, but they still have eight of their top-10 sack leaders from last season. And the defensive scheme that they run is, in my opinion, one of the easier ones to plug new guys into. I don’t think it is as talent-needy as other schemes are.
The main problem that Denver will face against the Ravens will be on the edge of the Baltimore defensive line. Justin Madibuike was an absolute game wrecker last year. He finished the season with 13 sacks, 33 QB hits, 12 TFL’s, and one forced fumble. He’s an incredible mix between size, strength and speed, and is an offensive tackle’s worst nightmare.
Kanas City Chiefs – Weeks 10, 18
At this point, the Broncos should know exactly what to expect out of the Chiefs. But last year the offensive line struggled in both matchups, giving up a total of 10 sacks and 17 QB hits between their two matchups. Even in Denver’s 24-9 beatdown they gave up six sacks and 10 QB hits. Those are numbers that you can’t make up any excuses for.
We all know that Chris Jones is a game breaker on that defensive line, but 2022 1st round pick George Karlaftis is turning into a real problem for his opposition when it comes to rushing the passer. In his sophomore year last season he finished with 10.5 sacks, 17 QB hits, seven TFL’s, and a forced fumble. Last year both Jones and Karlaftis combined for 21 sacks with four of them coming against the Broncos.
Steve Spagnuolo (credit where credit is due) has done a great job with the Chiefs, turning them into one of the league’s best defenses. Last year they were 2nd in total yards, scoring, and sacks, which is a big reason why they managed to hold the 49ers to just 22 points in the Super Bowl when they were averaging nearly 29 points per game.
Spagnuolo’s pressure packages are a nightmare to plan and block against. His whole defensive scheme really centers around creating blitzes out of every look imaginable. Spagnuolo can design a blitz for any player, out of any personnel package, against any formation, and any play. He masterfully uses simulated pressures and unconventional schemes to through off opposing offenses. And besides Jones, he doesn’t have the “ideal” type of manpower that other teams do. This is the reason why a large amount of his front seven players can play the defensive end spot, and also why his defensive backs managed to rack up nine sacks over last season.
He also loves to blitz on third down as last year they blitzed on third down 39.3% of the time and created pressure 64.3% of the time. This was one of the reasons why the Chiefs had 73 unblocked pressures last year.
Essentially, to stop the Chiefs your offensive line likely has to be perfect, your quarterback has to have excellent discipline, and your center has to watch an unbelievable amount of film to know what’s coming.
Cleveland Browns – Week 13
The Browns are, personnel-wise, likely the best front seven that Denver will face off against this season. Now, the good news is that they’ve already been able to handle this defensive front. The Broncos offensive line heavily limited what the Browns were able to do against their passing game. Denver managed to hold Cleveland to just one sack, six TFL’s, and four QB hits. Garret Bolles and Mike McGlinchey managed to hold Myles Garrett to just two tackles, one TFL, one pass defended, and zero sacks. Can they repeat this success?
One of the reasons, I believe, that the Broncos were able to handle a defense that averaged nearly three sacks a game last year was due to their ability to pound the rock. Going into their game last year, the Browns were only giving up 99 yards per game. And then the Broncos put up 169 yards on them. This allowed for Denver to play a more balanced game and forced the Browns to respect that aspect and to not rush the passer as hard as they usually would be able to.
Jim Schwartz’s defense fits the theme of the other ones that have been featured on this list. He heavily prioritizes blitzing and blitzing often. Last year the Browns blitzed nearly 30% of the time (which was up by two percent compared to their defense in 2022 that was lead by Joe Woods) and brought six rushers eight percent of the time. This allowed for Myles Garrett to shine more than he did in 2022. That season Garrett was double-teamed 31% of the time, whereas in 2023 he was double-teamed just 27% of the time.
Schwartz also likes to play with three pass rushers at a given time, and consistently brings his backers. This leaves opposing offensive lines guessing often times, which is a recipe for disaster.
Opposing defensive front-sevens ranked from hardest to easiest:
- Cleveland Browns
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Baltimore Ravens
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Los Angeles Chargers
- New York Jets
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Indianapolis Colts
- Carolina Panthers
- New Orleans Saints
- Atlanta Falcons
Poll
Who will be the biggest challenge for the offensive line this year?
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