LONDON — After a nearly 5,000-mile flight, the Broncos arrived here as a reeling football team heading into a work week they aim to keep as normal as possible.
Denver’s charter landed shortly before 7 a.m. local time Tuesday and the team went right to the school it’s using as a practice venue this week for a stretch-out. Then the players were left to enjoy their off day for the week while the coaches set about game planning for Jacksonville as the Broncos attempt to end a four-game losing streak.
Here are five questions that need answering if that’s going to happen.
QB1 or QB2?
Denver’s single biggest game-related question, of course, is whether Russell Wilson will return to action after missing Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets with a hamstring issue. He’ll push hard to play, but sitting Wilson again buys an extra week and would put him at four full weeks between the injury in Los Angeles on Oct. 17 and the Broncos’ Nov. 13 game at Tennessee.
Decisions, decisions, especially considering the offensive struggles didn’t abate with back-up Brett Rypien in the game Sunday. Before the team left for London, head coach Nathaniel Hackett said they’ll know “much more” about Wilson’s status after the Broncos’ first official practice of the week here Wednesday afternoon.
Shuffle the deck up front?
Denver’s injury rash has impacted just about every position on the roster, but the offensive tackle situation is one to monitor going forward.
First, the Broncos lost left tackle Garett Bolles to a season-ending leg injury. Just about the time Cam Fleming and Billy Turner started to look like they were settling in Sunday — Fleming took over left tackle and Turner right midway through the Chargers game — Fleming went down with a quad injury and now will be out multiple weeks.
The question seems to be whether Calvin Anderson simply slides in at left tackle or if Turner flips over. Hackett loves Turner’s versatility dating to the pair’s time together in Green Bay.
What’s the rush?
Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has overseen a group that’s put consistent pressure on opposing defenses through seven games. That gets more challenging this week without outside linebacker Baron Browning. The Broncos are already sans Randy Greogry (knee) and now lose the talented second-year player for around three weeks with a hip strain, too.
Can outside linebacker Bradley Chubb and a group consisting of Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper make life difficult for Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence? Will Evero rely more heavily on his defensive line rotation?
One observation: Rookies Matt Henningsen and Eyioma Uwazurike have earned increasingly consistent rotation snaps up front. They’re not going to be big-time pass-rushers this season, but the defensive line might have an even heavier role this weekend with depth on the edge dwindling.
Any moves?
The logistics of, say, signing a player off another team’s practice squad are a little bit more difficult when said player is several thousand miles away. It would be interesting, too, if a trade went down this week that sent a Broncos player to another team back in the States.
The most likely scenario is that Denver got its work on that front out of the way when it got San Francisco practice squad running back Marlon Mack on a plane Sunday night and signed him to the active roster before the team left for London on Monday. They also signed tackle Christian DiLauro to the practice squad before leaving.
So, the group here is probably the group that’s available Sunday. Then the trade deadline arrives right after the team gets back to Colorado next week.
A road trip refresh?
It seems silly to think that a trip of this scale is what the Broncos need to get going in the right direction, but at this point, they’re willing to consider anything possible. Inside linebacker Jonas Griffith on Sunday after the loss said, “Shoot, we need something, so hopefully London will be the magic trick to helping us turn the season around.” Hackett said he’s glad the team can be together on the road for an extended period, too.
“I’m looking forward to it,” cornerback Pat Surtain II said. “I know it’s going to be a long flight. I’m going to enjoy the sightseeing there, but it’s a business trip, still.”
It’s not like they’ve got copious free time to see if Rishi Sunak is already set up at 10 Downing Street as the new prime minister or take in a couple of soccer — eh, football — matches. But it certainly sets up differently than normal just being in a hotel for five nights.
Whether it’s the English weather, or a dedication to the run game, or the defense winning a game all by itself, Denver’s task here is pretty simple: Fly back to Colorado 3-5 rather than 2-6.
