The Houston Texans and Denver Broncos get ready for a Week 14 showdown at NRG Stadium, and Jon Heath, managing editor for the Broncos Wire, gets Texans fans ready for the game with a look behind enemy lines.
Texans Wire: Did Broncos fans expect the season to go this way?
Jon Heath: Every team has its overly optimistic fans and overly pessimistic fans. If you asked the average (generally realistic) fan for a win-loss record in August, they probably would have guessed 8-8 or 9-7. A .500 season is still possible, but very unlikely. Vic Fangio is a defensive guru and he has delivered there. Denver’s biggest weakness at the beginning of the year was QB play and fans are hoping Drew Lock will solve that problem.
TW: How has Kareem Jackson worked out for Denver? He was a fan favorite in Houston.
Denver wasn’t quite sure where he was going to line up at the beginning of the year but after Jackson settled in at safety, he has been brilliant. He has teamed up with Justin Simmons to give the Broncos their best safety duo since T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart helped the team win Super Bowl 50 in 2015. With Simmons, Chris Harris and Will Parks all set to become free agents in 2020, Jackson looks like a player who will be a crucial member of the secondary even beyond this season.
TW: How has Phillip Lindsay performed in light of his season-ending injury a year ago?
JH: Lindsay seems to have fully recovered from his wrist injury and is on pace for a 1,021-yard, seven-touchdown season. Lindsay earned a Pro Bowl nod last year after rushing for 1,037 yards and nine touchdowns. So. his production is pretty similar to last year despite the fact that Royce Freeman is stealing more touches. In 2018, Freeman got 144 touches in 14 games. This year, Freeman has 142 touches through 12 games.
TW: Does John Elway have too much ego as a HOF quarterback to truly figure out the club’s QB situation?
JH: I’m not sure if his ego is getting in the way but Elway has swung and missed on Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch as draft picks and on Case Keenum and Joe Flacco as free agent signings. If Lock doesn’t help turn things around in 2020, Elway might just strike out as GM in Denver.
TW: What’s the one thing the Broncos are doing really well right now? Even teams out of contention by December develop really solid, dominating aspects of their game that can beat playoff-bound teams if they’re not careful.
JH: Denver has had three different starting quarterbacks this season and all of them have done one thing right: throw the ball to Courtland Sutton. The second-year receiver has 54 catches for 906 yards and six touchdowns so far and seemingly no cornerback has been able to cover him one-on-one this season. If defenses double-team Sutton, it creates opportunities for other players. If defenses leave Sutton one-on-one, it’s usually a mismatch.
TW: do you have a prediction and a bold prediction?
JH: The Broncos have had a lot of close games this year and might be a better team than their record suggests. Even with that being the case, though, Lock will have some growing pains as a rookie QB and it’s never easy to win on the road.
Bold prediction: Von Miller recovers from his knee injury and sacks Deshaun Watson three times. Unfortunately for Denver, that won’t be enough to get a win. Texans, 24-17.