Getty Courtland Sutton #14 of the Denver Broncos celebrates with Teddy Bridgewater #5 and Tim Patrick #81 after a second quarter touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFL preseason game at Empower Field at Mile High on August 28, 2021 in Denver, Colorado.
Despite his worst performance during his time in Denver, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is still confident in himself and more importantly, his Broncos teammates.
Vic Fangio’s team enter Cleveland’s cauldron later tonight in a must-win Thursday Night Football match. The wounded Browns are also fresh off a loss and crucially, will be without their starting quarterback and former No.1 overall pick, Baker Mayfield. Both teams have a 3-3 record and will be desperate to gain a victory which could kickstart their respective season’s.
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Bridgewater: We’re a Special Team
In spite of three straight defeats, Bridgewater is ultra confident in his team, no matter how much belief may have wavered.
“This group — we’re so tight and we all believe in each other,” Bridgewater told reporters, October 19. “I say it every week that we’re some special — excuse my language — we’re some special individuals. Ever Sunday and every week, we get an opportunity to do something special. As long as guys continue to believe that we’re here and we’re serving our purpose, then confidence shouldn’t be shattered. Everyone has a unique skill set and we’re doing a great job of finding different ways to get everyone involved and get everyone to maximize their skill set that they have.
“There’s no real room to allow the confidence to be shattered. At the end of the day, we’re all human and sometimes the flesh is weak. That’s where we come together as leaders on his team and as guys who have experience in this league who’ve been a part of winning streaks, losing streaks, championships…You come together, and it just makes you realize that the most important thing is just the common goal of this team — to win.”
Bridgewater was listed as questionable for tonight game on October 20, with a foot/quad injury — sustained on the opening touchdown pass in Week 6. Despite concerns, Denver is confident its starter will be taking his place tonight. Backup Drew Lock hasn’t take a first-team snap all week, according to NFL Network’s James Palmer.
Elite Pass Rush vs. Struggling O-Line
Denver has struggled in its last three outings, particularly on offense. Heading in to the primetime encounter, the Broncos sit 30th in sacks, having allowed 19 through six weeks. Worryingly, the Browns defense have feasted on quarterbacks — spearheaded by defensive end Myles Garrett — sacking them 18 times, positioning Cleveland third among all teams.
“Just get the ball out faster and continue to play in rhythm,” Bridgewater said, referring to the means of avoiding quarterback hits. “When we’re doing those things well, we’re executing at a high level. For me, as I’m dropping, I just [need to] continue to stay in rhythm, trust that our guys will win those one-on-one battles up front, and trust that our receivers will win those one-on-one battles when they’re running routes.”
If Denver is any chance of securing a win, they’ll need to be intensely focused on executing each and every snap.
“We’ve got to lock in on what we’re trying to execute,” Bridgewater remarked. “We got to lock in one play at a time. We can’t look too far ahead. We can’t look to the third quarter, we can’t look to the fourth quarter, and we can’t look forward to what we’re doing after the game. We’ve got to be where our feet are and that’s one play at a time.
Follow Patrick Djordjevic on Twitter: @Patdjordjevic