Quarterback Trevor Siemian passed his first road test in week three as the Denver Broncos (3-0) beat the Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) 29-17. He had his best performance yet throwing for 312 yards, four touchdowns and was award AFC Offensive Player of the Week. 2015 seventh round pick Siemian will look to build on his week three performance as the Broncos face off against 2015 first overall pick quarterback Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2) in week four.
The long ball was clicking for the Broncos offense. Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders both scored on passes longer than 50 yards. Siemian may look for the long ball again this week as the Buccaneers gave up two 40-yard touchdown passes to the Los Angeles Rams in their week three 37-32 loss.
Running back C.J. Anderson will look to bounce back from his 37-yard rushing performance in week three. Teams can no longer stack the box against the Broncos as the offense showed in they can beat teams by airing it out if teams stack the box. Anderson is a tough runner and can hit teams with big runs at anytime.
“[He’s a] very, very, very hard runner, tough guy to bring down, and always moving his feet” said Buccaneers Pro Bowl defensive lineman Gerald McCoy. “”He’ll nick you hear and there until one good time, he cuts you deep, and that’ll be his big run for the day.”
The Bronco secondary or the “No Fly Zone” will have a lot of opportunities to create turnovers. Winston leads the league in passing attempts, throwing it about 47 times a game. Winston likes to take chances with the football and it can lead to mistakes. He has also thrown the second most interceptions in the league.
Wide receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson may pose a problem for the secondary. Both stand at 6’5”, but Evans is the better one out of the two. Evans is similar to Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin in size, but Evans is faster and more skilled. Benjamin caught six passes for 91 yards and one touchdown, the most impressive stat line a wide receiver has put up against the Broncos so far. Cornerback Aqib Talib is the Broncos biggest and most physical so it will not be a surprise if the Broncos match him up with Evans.
Both teams have not faced each other since 2012. The Broncos have not traveled to Tampa Bay in 12 years. The weather is going to be typical Tampa Bay weather on Sunday. It is estimated to be in mid-80s, low-90s with scattered thunderstorms. Bronco safety T.J. Ward realized Broncos practiced in hoodies on Wednesday to get accustomed to the heat.
This could be a potential “trap game” for the Broncos, but Head Coach Gary Kubiak dismissed that notion.
“There are 16 traps in the NFL,” Kubiak said. “If you don’t play well, you get trapped. It’s week four. We’re focused on playing well again. We know we’ll have to play good to win the game, so we restart every week and get ready to play. We respect everybody.”
The Broncos played their first road game last week and had their best game of the season. They will look to improve on that and add another win to there record.
