Mystery football theater: Are the Ravens and Broncos AFC contenders or teams with big questions to answer?

A wayward bounce disconnected the crossbar successful Week 3 and a fourth-down halt successful Week 2. Given these hypothetical twists, the Ravens could beryllium 0-3 alternatively of 2-1.

If the Denver Broncos had played an hostile with a azygous triumph successful 2021, possibly they would not beryllium 3-0 and starring the NFL successful constituent differential.

Based connected records alone, Ravens vs. Broncos looks similar an early-season showdown betwixt AFC contenders. But however assured tin we beryllium successful either squad arsenic they hole to conscionable Sunday day successful Denver? Could this crippled beryllium much a fact-finding ngo than a referendum connected postseason destinies?

It’s hard to prime galore nits successful the Broncos’ statistical profile. Teddy Bridgewater has completed 76.8% of his passes with nary interceptions, giving Denver morganatic anticipation for a afloat play of dependable backmost play, a luxury the franchise has not enjoyed since Peyton Manning’s penultimate play successful 2014. Pass rusher ultimate Von Miller has returned from a mislaid play to pb a defence that ranks 3rd successful the NFL against the walk and 2nd against the run. The Broncos fertile 5th successful DVOA, Football Outsiders’ wide measurement of squad efficiency; they ranked 29th successful 2020.

This indispensable beryllium a clip for mile-high euphoria arsenic the Ravens sojourn the Rocky Mountains, no? Well, we person to look astatine the schedule. The Broncos person dominated the New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets, teams with a combined grounds of 0-10. The Jets and Jaguars, some led by rookie quarterbacks, ranked 30th and 31st successful DVOA, respectively, done 3 weeks.

So are the Broncos a menace to the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC West hegemony oregon a insubstantial titan? They look funny successful uncovering retired themselves with different postseason contender coming to town.

“It’s truly similar a playoff crippled aboriginal successful the season,” Miller told Denver reporters. “A batch of these guys haven’t adjacent played successful a playoff crippled before, and that’s benignant of been my connection to these guys — like, this is simply a playoff crippled aboriginal successful the season. This is the clip for america to amusement what we’ve got against a worthy opponent, and that’s wherever our absorption has been.”

The Broncos request to beryllium taken earnestly due to the fact that of their balance. They tally arsenic overmuch arsenic they walk connected discourtesy and diagnostic talented players connected each 3 levels of their defense.

“When you’re capable to tally the ball, you tin beryllium arsenic balanced arsenic you privation to be,” Ravens antiaircraft extremity Calais Campbell said successful assessing Denver’s offense. “So, the mode we person to combat that is conscionable by winning those aboriginal downs and winning against the run. If it’s second-and-6 oregon less, you tin beryllium precise balanced, and you tin bash each the play-action. If you commencement getting archetypal downs, earning archetypal downs, past you tin commencement throwing connected archetypal down. It’s conscionable the mode the crippled goes.”

On the different broadside of the ball, Ravens violative linemen volition person their paws afloat trying to support up with the 32-year-old Miller, who has 4 sacks and six tackles for nonaccomplishment done 3 games aft helium missed the 2020 play with a dislocated tendon successful his ankle. Miller has 110 vocation sacks, second-most among progressive players, though helium lone has fractional a sack successful 4 vocation games against the Ravens, including the playoffs.

“The fountain of younker has been benignant to him,” Ravens violative coordinator Greg Roman said. “You tin effort to bash immoderate things. Do you tally astatine him? Do you tally distant from him? Do you bash this? Do you bash that? … I deliberation he’s a very, precise instinctive player. So, helium tin odor a rat beauteous speedy — it’s not his archetypal rodeo.”

Even if Jackson eludes Miller’s grasp, he’ll person to beryllium cautious attacking a Broncos secondary that features a brace of fantabulous safeties successful Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons and a imaginable prima successful rookie cornerback Patrick Surtain II.

The Broncos defence is the champion the Ravens person faced this twelvemonth by astir immoderate measure. It’s a hard duty for a squad that’s inactive uncovering itself aft a spate of devastating injuries connected some sides of the ball.

“We’re getting a consciousness for the caller guys arsenic we go, and I think, hopefully, we tin make a existent bully consciousness of what they bash good and wherever they flourish,” Roman said. “I deliberation that’s a process — that doesn’t conscionable hap overnight.”

The Ravens are inactive figuring retired however to deploy a backfield that came unneurotic astir overnight aft moving backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards went down with season-ending genu injuries. They’re waiting to spot if Ronnie Stanley volition instrumentality astatine near tackle arsenic helium works to rehabilitate his surgically repaired near ankle. They conscionable welcomed wide receivers Rashod Bateman and Miles Boykin backmost to signifier aft some missed the archetypal 3 weeks connected injured reserve.

With Jackson starring the league successful yards per completion arsenic a passer and yards per effort arsenic a runner, the Ravens person been potent astatine times. “They person a unsocial benignant — a very, precise effectual style, but it is unique,” Miller said, explaining wherefore opponents volition ever instrumentality the Baltimore discourtesy seriously. “It’s led by Lamar Jackson. He tin run, helium tin throw, helium tin bash each types of stuff. He tin shingle guys successful the spread and extracurricular the hole. If you get him successful space, it’s a nightmare for anybody.”

Jackson besides formed disconnected a important albatross erstwhile helium rallied his squad to bushed the Chiefs, 36-35, successful Week 2. But immoderate the Ravens are going to beryllium connected offense, we haven’t seen it yet, astatine slightest not consistently.

The aforesaid could beryllium said connected defense, wherever they person yet to enactment unneurotic a implicit show implicit 4 quarters. Again, injuries and unwellness person been immense parts of the story. The Ravens mislaid their apical antiaircraft playmaker, cornerback Marcus Peters, earlier the play started. Last weekend, they played the Detroit Lions without 4 front-seven defenders who were connected the reserve/COVID-19 list. They’ll person 3 of those — Justin Houston, Justin Madubuike and Brandon Williams — backmost successful Denver. But they’re inactive dealing with injuries to front-line players, including cornerback Anthony Averett, information DeShon Elliott and antiaircraft extremity Derek Wolfe.

“It decidedly is atrocious luck. What other could you telephone it?” said cornerback Jimmy Smith, who missed the archetypal 2 weeks with an ankle injury. “It’s decidedly a small achromatic cloud. You could beryllium and outcry astir it, but we inactive person to play.”

The Ravens person rejected the thought that they’ve tally retired of state precocious successful games, but they gave up 17 points aft halftime against the Lions and 23 aft halftime against the Las Vegas Raiders. They’ve yet to triumph decisively, thing they did often successful 2019 and 2020, erstwhile they led the league successful constituent differential. Will much steadfast bodies let them to adjacent stronger successful Denver?

Much arsenic the Broncos are anxious to trial themselves against a top-notch opponent, the Ravens are anxious to spot what they mightiness go with thing adjacent to a implicit roster.

“I deliberation the halfway is there. The halfway instauration is going to beryllium there,” Smith said. “The information that we’ve mislaid truthful galore radical and benignant of had our near manus tied down our backmost a small spot and inactive being capable to travel retired and beryllium victorious, it conscionable shows you what benignant of squad we truly are. So, we get each of our players backmost and everybody is moving connected afloat cylinders, it could beryllium a batch better, I’m sure.”