For an offensive lineman, there’s virtually nothing better than running the ball over and over. And over.
And over.
The high that comes with that wears off slowly. It can even carry through a bye week.
So, too, can the confidence that comes with playing together up front game after game. The Broncos in 2022 used 10 different offensive line combinations but so far this year have needed no such patchwork.
The quintet of left tackle Garett Bolles, left guard Ben Powers, center Lloyd Cushenberry, right guard Quinn Meinerz and right tackle Mike McGlinchey have not only started all eight games together, but they’ve played 483 of 485 offensive snaps. McGllinchey got rolled up on early in the fourth quarter of Denver’s 70-20 loss to Miami in Week 3 and missed two snaps, but was back in the game for the rest of the outing.
“It’s a tremendous help to have all of us and have as many snaps as we’ve had together,” Meinerz told reporters Tuesday. “There’s nothing that can replace those gameday reps together. It goes into the work we’ve all put in to keep our bodies healthy and it goes all the way back to the spring when we were working out here. All of us were here together.
“We’ve just done a good job staying healthy and it’s really important.”
The Broncos by yardage had their best outing of the year before the bye, churning out 153 yards on a whopping 40 rushing attempts in a 24-9 win against Kansas City. They did even a little better than that (38 for 160) before running back Javonte Williams lost seven yards on the final two snaps of the game when Denver was happy to just run the clock before a short field goal attempt.
Denver decided its best bet to knock off the Chiefs for the first time in 17 tries was to pound the rock, and it did just that even when the results weren’t always pretty.
“You want the game to be in your hands,” McGlinchey said afterward. “I’ve always debated whether you want to be the starting pitcher or the closing pitcher. I want to be the starter. I want the ball in my hands. I think the rest of our O-line feels the same way.
“… It was a great day for us. Not perfect. We still have a lot left to improve on for sure. It was a great step in the right direction.”
While it’s not the flashiest way to play offense, that formula is Denver’s best strategy for continuing to win games over the second half of the season.
Of course, Wilson also got sacked six times in 25 drop-backs against the Chiefs. His sack rate for the season is 10% and he’s on pace to get sacked 55 times. Among quarterbacks who have played in at least six games, only the New York Giants’ Daniel Jones (15.8%), Chicago’s Justin Fields, Washington’s Sam Howell, Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill and the New York Jets’ Zach Wilson have been sacked a higher percentage of the time, according to Pro Football Reference data.
Using the same six-game criteria, Wilson’s time to throw (3.12 seconds) is the third-longest and the rate at which pressures turn into sacks (23%) is fifth-highest, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I think it’s too hard to clump,” Payton said of trying to categorize blame for sacks. “There are certain routes that you just know, ‘Hey, we’re going to be a little bit more aggressive down the field.’ That means the sack probability rate would go up a little bit. There are certain routes from a timing standpoint that we know the ball is coming out and it should never be a sack. A lot of it has to do with the route design and the willingness to try to gain the yards at the catch point or deeper, or the latter, which would be throwing it quickly and you’re prepared. …
“A lot of it has to do with the play design and what we’re trying to accomplish. Russ has been smart relative to those decisions.”
Meinerz said the challenge of protecting Wilson, naturally, gets simpler when the offense is running the ball frequently.
“It makes it a ton easier, one because there’s less opportunities to pass the ball,” he said with a laugh. “No, but when you’re attacking a defensive line for most of the game and then you go into a pass protection, it allows me to maybe be a little bit more aggressive with my set and just take advantage of the situation.”
Next up is a Buffalo defense that’s ranked near the middle of the pack against the run and overall. It’s got disruptive pass-rushers, including former Broncos great Von Miller and Greg Rousseau (three sacks), A.J. Epenesa (five) and interior players like Ed Oliver.
Meinerz said he’s enjoyed the challenges presented so far this season and is excited for more of the same going forward.
“In between every single play, as a group on the O-line we’re talking about how the combos felt or, ‘Hey, if he does this, let’s do that.’ It’s a constant game in the trenches and it’s been a lot of fun to work through those together.”
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