The Denver Broncos, on Sunday, showed their chops as a defensive team. Though the scoreboard of 38-24 in favor of Denver doesn’t show it, the Broncos had success restricting Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson, one of the NFL’s most dynamic threats, went 13 of 23 for 120, no touchdowns and no interceptions in the first half. His Texans were down 31-3 after 30 minutes of play.
Broncos coach Vic Fangio says in the first half, they defended Watson with “a decent mix” of nickel, dime and quarter defense. The second half was a different story, however, as they knew Houston would come out guns blazing down by 28 points.
“Obviously in the second half we knew they were going to be heavy pass, obviously, so we got the extra DB in there, sometimes six, and tried to rush him,” said Fangio post-game. “But he’s obviously hard to get down. And our guys, Dre’Mont (Jones) went out early, Von’s (Miller) hobbled some.We were stressed in finding a pass rush there. And then we did add a few.”
The Broncos got to Watson thrice throughout the contest, with one of their sacks coming in the fourth quarter. Eventually, they found some success blitzing.
Watson finished with three total touchdowns, including two on the ground. He went 28 of 50 passing (56%) for 292 yards passing as well as two late interceptions. Ultimately, Denver’s defense, which favored defensive backs, worked.
“We called a couple pressures, and we didn’t contain him the one time, which he got out,” said Fangio. “And when you had the lead like that, you just don’t want to give them a big one. So although it was painful to watch at times for me, we did the right thing under the circumstances.”
Fangio is considered to be one of the NFL’s elite defensive minds. On Sunday, the Texans will face another defensive-minded coach, a familiar one: Mike Vrabel and the Tennessee Titans.