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Top 5 Rushing Matchups
Denver vs Houston
In Week 1, the Broncos had 103 rushing yards while splitting the workload between Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams. Gordon saw the leading role on the ground, with 12 carries for 58 yards, while Javonte Williams had 7 carries and 43 yards. Williams led the team in targets (12), but the committee projections that came out of camp were largely confirmed in the game. Guard Quinn Meinerz was having a good performance before he left the game with a quad injury and is expected to miss four weeks, a major blow to an offensive line that had high expectations heading into this season. This is still a unit with talent led by Garrett Bolles, but cohesion could be a factor for this offensive line as they have brought in a new right tackle in Billy Turner. Graham Glasgow will be playing at right guard with the injury to Meinerz.
Houston had their hands full with the Indianapolis running game giving up 161 yards and a touchdown to Jonathan Taylor on 31 carries in Week 1. The team missed 17 tackles, the worst performance in the league in Week 1. Their defense featured the only two players in the league to have four missed tackles in Week 1, Safety Jalen Pitre and Cornerback Steven Nelson. This is a defense that up the middle is one that is expected to struggle as defensive tackles Maliek Collins and Roy Lopez have been below-average players throughout their career. At the same time, linebacker Christian Kirksey is no longer the player he once was and has struggled against the run over the last several seasons. Houston gave up the second most rushing yards in the league in 2021 (2,418), and signs do not point to this team turning it around.
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