–The Broncos’ offensive line is undergoing a midseason makeover due to injuries. Left guard Ron Leary suffered a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Right tackle Jared Veldheer has missed the last two games with a knee injury and his status is uncertain for the Arizona game. Max Garcia is expected to step in for Leary and Billy Turner has been filling in for Veldheer.
Quarterback Case Keenum said he’s confident the revamped offensive line will get the job done. “I trust the offensive line, no matter who’s in there,” Keenum said. “I think we’ve got seven or eight guys, nine guys that can play whenever they need to. That’s the ‘next man up” mentality. Those guys, that’s why they’re here. They’re ready to go. I think they’ll be ready to go Thursday night.”
–Cornerback Chris Harris Jr. is slated to start his 100th career game Thursday night.
–Outside linebacker Von Miller is one sack away from overtaking Tamba Hali (89.5) and Bryant Young (89.5) for 45th on the NFL’s all-time sack list.
BY THE NUMBERS: The Broncos rank 12th in total offense but when it comes to scoring, they are among the worst, ranking 26th (20.0 points) among the league’s 32 teams. The lack of scoring efficiency stems from a poor touchdown percentage in the red zone, drive-killing penalties and a sometimes one-dimensional offense that leans on the passing game because of the frequency with which the Broncos are forced to play catch-up in games.
“When you’re playing behind, you try to stick to your game plan and keep running the ball here and there, but especially with the later it gets, you need to make explosive plays,” quarterback Case Keenum said. “That gives the defense, especially the defensive line, a chance to tee off and try to come sack the quarterback. It makes it tough on our offensive line because they’re sitting back there, the defensive line has they’re ears pinned back, trying to rush. It’s tough, but we put ourselves in that position early and we’ve got to make sure we don’t do it again this week.”
