By Cedric Williams
It’s hard to believe, the way the schedules are usually made in the NFL, but it’s been almost a month since the St. Louis Rams played a home game.
In fact, as one of only four teams in the entire league asked to play three straight road games this season, it will have been 28 days since the last time the Rams played a game in St. Louis.
And as fate might have it, Sunday’s de facto Rams homecoming game at the Edward Jones Dome will feature a matchup with the high-flying, high-scoring, high-octane Denver Broncos, the team that represented the AFC in last year’s Super Bowl, which is led of course, by future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.
Denver on Offense
With Manning at the helm, the Broncos are simply sensational on offense. They’ll come into Sunday’s matchup with the Rams ranked near the top of the league in almost every pertinent offensive category.
The Broncos are second in scoring (31.8 points/game), ranked third in total offense (414.7 yards/game), and are second overall in passing (317.9 yards/game). Denver also has the fourth-most passing first downs in the league, and the Broncos are the fifth-best team in converting third downs.
Along with Manning, the five-time league MVP who re-wrote the NFL record book with 55 touchdown passes and leads the league again this season with 29 TDs in nine games, Denver uses a tight rotation of backs out of the backfield, which includes Ronnie Hillman, C.J. Anderson, and native St. Louisan Montee Ball, who hopes to play this week in his hometown after missing several games with a groin injury.
With an all-time great passer like Manning though, the guys who do the real damage for the Broncos are receivers Demaryius Thomas (65 catches, 1,002 yards, six TDs) and Emmanuel Sanders (62 catches, 852 yards, six TDs) and tight end Julius Thomas (38 catches, 423 yards, and an NFL-leading 12 TDs).
Last week, Denver had 471 yards and Manning threw five TD passes in a 41-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
Denver on Defense
The Bronco defense ain’t too shabby either.
That group will come to town as the fifth-best unit in the league, behind only Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle, and Miami in total yards allowed.
Against the pass, Denver is allowing 247.1 yards/game, which ranks 19th overall. But the Broncos offset that number by being the best team in the league against the run, where they give up just 67.0 yards/game.
Some will suggest that a reason for that low number is because Denver’s potent offense forces opponents to give up on the run. But no matter the reason, it’s still quite a feat to be the team that allows the least amount of rushing yards in the league.
Linebacker Brandon Marshall has been the leader of Denver’s defense. The third-year player out of Nevada has nearly twice as many tackles (75) as anyone on the team, while sack master teammates Von Miller (nine sacks) and DeMarcus Ware (eight sacks) are the best pass-rushing duo in the league.
Denver on Special Teams
The Broncos are a middle of the pack team on special teams.
Punter Britton Colquitt is averaging a mediocre 45.2 yards/punt and kicker Brandon McManus has made just eight of 11 field goals this season. But those figures haven’t hurt the 7-2 Broncos much, mostly because they score so many touchdowns.
In the return game, Andre Caldwell is averaging 25.3 yards/kickoff return, while rookie Isaiah Burse is averaging just about eight yards a return on punts.
Series History
The Rams lead the all-time series with Denver 7 wins to 5.
In fact, St. Louis has actually won the last two meetings between the club, including a 36-33 win in Denver in 2010 and an 18-10 victory at the Edward Jones Dome in 2006.
The most memorable matchup between these clubs, since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, would have to be the 2000 NFL season opener, when the then-defending Super Bowl champion Rams won a Monday Night Football shootout over the Broncos, 41-36.
For more Rams news and updates, visit Rams Central.
Cedric Williams, a lifelong St. Louisan and proud UMSL alum, has been a freelance reporter/photographer covering St. Louis area sports for nearly two decades. Most recently, he has been working as a credentialed beat writer covering the Rams and small-school college sports for Examiner.com and other outlets from around the area. Please share any comments, questions, or feedback with Cedric at cedricwilliams510@gmail.com. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
