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[Denver Broncos]

Thursday Night Football Week 9: Ravens at Dolphins Open Thread

Lamar Jackson officially makes his return to the lineup after being out a while with a hamstring injury. The 2-5 Baltimore Ravens are in desperate need to get on a run after winning just their second game on Sunday. The Miami Dolphins are 2-6 themselves and reeling from poor play and injuries. This is game that could help keep the Ravens hopes for a playoff berth alive for another week.

Kickoff is set for Thursday, October 30, 2025 at 6:15 p.m. Mile High time at Hard Rock Stadium in Opa Locka, Florida and will air on Prime Video.

My Prediction​

According to FanDuel, the Ravens are massive 7.5-point road favorites over the Dolphins here. I don’t really like this big spread, but I would agree it could certainly turn into a blowout. I do think the return of Jackson is being overplayed here on this line. Last I checked, he doesn’t play defense and that defense has given up 37 or more points in four of their seven games and three of those were with Lamar Jackson in the lineup. That said, I do thinks Baltimore comes out on top in a closer outcome.

Prediction: Ravens 27, Dolphins 24

Open thread in the comments section below. Discuss the games action there!​

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/game-day-threads/162212/tnf-week-9-ravens-at-dolphins

 

[Denver Broncos]

Game by game Bronco snap percentages by player for 2025 at the half-way point

Not one player on the Denver Broncos has played every snap on offense or defense so far this season, but that is mainly due to getting a series for the backups in the blow out win over the Cowboys.

OFFENSE​

Offensive Line​

The loss of Ben Powers has shifted Alex Palczweski from the 6th OL to starting guard. AP’s quickness and hand-fighting skills have made him a plus guard. He played well at tackle last season when he had to fill in for one of the starting tackles. Frank Crum and Calvin Throckmorton have both been used now as the 6th OL with AP moving into a starting role.

Tight Ends and Running Backs​

Jaleel McLaughlin has lost his role from last season. JK Dobbins is getting the majority of the RB snaps, with RJ Harvey getting the RB2 snaps and Tyler Badie getting the 3rd down back snaps. With Harvey’s performance against the struggling Dallas defense I would expect him to take a few more RB snaps in the second half of the season.

The loss of Lucas Krull and now Nate Adkins means that the Broncos were forced to bring in veteran Mercedes Lewis as the blocking TE. Evan Engram’s effectiveness in the passing game has made the other TEs almost non-factors in the passing game. Adkins, Krull and Adam Trautman have combined for 22 targets in 8 games, despite Trautman playing the most TE snaps in many games this season. It will be interesting to see how quickly Lewis picks up the playbook. The 41-year old former first round pick (2006) has never played for Sean Payton, but he’s a veteran so he should pick it up quickly. He played 220 snaps for the Bears last season and was targetted twice. He’s listed as 6-6, 267 lbs.

Wide Receivers​

Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin have been WR1 and WR2 for most games this season with the exception of game 6 when Pat Bryant get the same number of snaps as Franklin. Marvin Mims has mostly been WR4 with Trent Sherfield gradually losing playing time to Pat Bryant.

DEFENSE​

Defensive line​

Sai’vion Jones and Jordan Jackson have both played D snaps in only one game this season. Zach Allen has played the most snaps in every game except last week when Malcolm Roach did. The return of Roach from injury has relegated both Jackson and Jones to the game-day inactive list. Eyioma Uwazurike had been losing playing time until the last two games when he started trending up.

Outside Linebackers (edge defenders)​

Que Robinson was active and played in games 6 and 7 when Jonah Elliss was injured. Other than that Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper have been playing 55-75% of the snaps at OLB and Elliss and Dondrea Tillman have been playing 25-45%. The lone exception was the last game against Dallas when all four played about the same snap percentage.

Inside Linebackers​

Free agent acquisition Drew Greenlaw was injured until game 7 and then he was suspended for game 8. Alex Singleton has been the every down ILB with Justin Strnad coming off the field on passing downs. Karene Ried, Levelle Bailey and Garret Wallow have not seen the field much on defense when they were on the 53 man roster.

Cornerbacks​

Riley Moss is the darker blue and he has played almost every snap on defense this season. Pat Surtain was matching him until he got hurt last game. KAD took those CB snaps with Surtain out. I would expect that to continue unless Jahdae Barron proves he should be CB2 with Surtain out. Ja’Quan McMillian has played between 50-80% of the D snaps as the slot corner. Barron has been roughly between 20-40% in every game, but that might change with Surtain’s injury. KAD and Ja’Quan have both played CB2 for the Broncos in the past. It will be interesting to see how the roles and snaps are distributed while PS2 is out.

Safeties​

Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones have played almost every safety snap through the first eight games. With Locke and/or Skinner getting a handful in heavy nickle here and there. Remember Locke was one of our starting safeties last year and the play at safety in 2025 has been significantly better this year relative to 2024. Jones (56.3) and Hufanga (93.1) have allowed fairly low passer ratings this season when their men are targetted. Locke allowed one of the worst passer ratings in the league last season among starters with a 125.8. He allowed 40/54 (74%) for 484 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs.

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/denv...r-broncos-snap-percentages-by-player-for-2025

 

[Denver Broncos]

Broncos vs. Texans: 3 players to watch in Week 9 matchup

The Denver Broncos head on the road to battle the Houston Texans this weekend for their Week 9 gridiron matchup. The Texans are 3-4 and struggling to hit their stride on offense. However, their defense is one of the best in the National Football League. This will be a tough road challenge, but one Denver is capable of winning if they execute. Here are three players I believe need to play at a high level in order for the Broncos to come away with a victory on Sunday.

Garett Bolles — Offensive Tackle​

Left tackle Garett Bolles is the longest tenured member of the Broncos. In his ninth season in the National Football League, the franchise’s longtime blindside protector continues to perform at a high level. In fact, he might just be having the best season of his career.

So far in 2025, Bolles hasn’t allowed a single sack and has just four penalties. Even better? He has given up the least amount of pressure of any starting tackle in the NFL. Though his impact doesn’t stop there. Bolles’ play is a big reason for their uptick in production running the ball. J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey have had some of their best and most explosive runs of the season with #73 paving the way with his downfield blocking.

This weekend Bolles and teammate Mike McGlinchey have their biggest test of the season thus far. We all know the Broncos have a great edge rusher duo in Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. Though the Texans boast a duo that is arguably just as formidable. Going up against Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter will be a big test for Denver’s offensive line. If they can protect Bo Nix and give him time to make plays down the field, that would go a long way toward achieving their seventh win of the season.

Kris Abrams-Draine — Cornerback​

The Broncos’ secondary has continued to be a bright spot this season. Unfortunately, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II will be sidelined for the next several games due to a pectoral strain. That will present some challenges for the unit but also more opportunities for some of their younger players.

It’s next man up in the Broncos’ secondary. Second-year pro Kris Abrams-Draine figures to see extensive playing time on Sunday opposite of Riley Moss. While the Texans’ offense is certainly missing Tank Dell, quarterback C.J. Stroud is known for distributing the football to a lot of different players. Even so, there is no doubt the Texans will be looking for ways to go after Abrams-Draine.

I’m interested to see how Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph approaches this game. Will he opt for more blitzes with zone coverages? Or will he still be calling man coverage at the highest rate in the NFL? With respect to Kris, I think we will see him in lot of off-man and zone coverages through the game. That should help him make some plays on the ball like we were accustomed to seeing during his collegiate days at Mizzou. Hopefully he can be consistent, keep the ball in front of him, and not allow big plays down the field.

J.K Dobbins — Running Back​

As we’ve outlined at Mile High Report all week, the Texans’ defense is formidable. They do a really good job of shutting down opposing quarterbacks through the air and force a lot of turnovers. I wouldn’t call it a weakness of theirs, but trying to establish the running game against them is going to be crucial for Denver to secure a road win.

There is no doubt the Broncos’ rushing attack has revitalized in ‘25 with veteran J.K. Dobbins leading the way. In eight games, the veteran is third in the NFL with 634 rushing yards. He has been a productive player, especially on first and second downs, and has toppled the 100-yard mark twice over the past several games. And even second-round pick RJ Harvey has flashed—including three touchdowns—in last week’s blowout victory over the Cowboys.

Dobbins clearly has a hot hand right now. So why stop giving him the ball? Pound the rock. Playing on the road, controlling the clock and dictating the pace of the game is important. If Dobbins can get rolling and generate consistent yardage early on, that should help sustain drives and alleviate some pressure off the shoulders of quarterback Bo Nix. If the Broncos’ rushing attack can thrive on the road, I believe Denver’s odds of winning improve immensely.

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/denv...s-texans-3-players-to-watch-in-week-9-matchup