Denver Broncos: Can they do unthinkable vs. New England Patriots?

Denver hosts the undefeated New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football. Can the Broncos pull off the surprise?

Earlier this season, tonight’s game between the Patriots and Broncos was supposed to be yet another epic showdown between two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning.

Due to injury, Manning won’t be under center tonight but a young and upcoming quarterback in Brock Osweiler will do his very best to do the unthinkable this season and do his part to hand the Patriots their first loss of the season.

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The Patriots, although undefeated so far this season, have come narrowly close to losing a few times but like they always say, great teams will always find a way to win. Against the Broncos tonight, they’ll have their hands full based on what we all saw last week in Osweiler’s first NFL start of his career.

Against the Chicago Bears last week, Osweiler totaled 250 passing yards on 20 completions and 2 touchdowns with 0 interceptions straight to being the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. His quarterback rating of 127.1 was quite impressive for his first ever NFL start as he was incredibly efficient under center and delivered nicely for his Broncos.

With the Patriots coming to town, the Broncos actually have a shot at bringing down one of the best teams in the NFL this season by sticking to what works with a potent ground game and mistake-free football. The Broncos’ defense is No. 1 in the league which has been absolutely incredible and should give Tom Brady and his offensive bunch much pressure in tonight’s big match-up.

Nov 22, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib (21) celebrates with strong safety T.J. Ward (43) after intercepting a pass for Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford (33) not pictured during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Considering all the injuries that have hit the Patriots on offense, it’s definitely taken away from of their potency to get the job done. They haven’t been as effective when it comes to scoring touchdowns and have been settling for more field goals as of late. Brady and the elite coaching/game planning of Bill Belichick can only take the Patriots so far as the injuries continue to pile up at a weekly rate.

Expect to see the Broncos’ defense take full advantage of this and truly shut down the Patriots’ offense in front of their home crowd. With Osweiler under center, he should continue to prove that all the time he spent being developed under Manning was fully worth it against the biggest test for him so far this season. He plays very smart football and looks like he could be the real deal with a golden opportunity to showcase his talents under the night lights of prime time football.

With a decline of production from tight end Rob Gronkowski, he’s all the Patriots really have that brings an incredible dimension on offense. Considering how incredible the Broncos’ defense have been this season stopping everything coming their way, he might continue not having such a huge impact like we’re all use to seeing. Keep in mind last week against the Buffalo Bills, Gronkowski only totaled 37 receiving yards on 2 receptions.

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Overall, for the Broncos to pull the unthinkable tonight, it’ll come down to making sure their ground game takes off the moment the game starts and shutting Brady down. The Patriots’ defense is very good at stopping the run but with both C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman being a great dual-headed rushing attack, if these two take off combined with the efficiency of Osweiler, expect to see the Broncos leave this game victorious and pulling off the unthinkable.