The Broncos found a simple formula for success against the Saints

The Saints are a mess. Beat up and battered, the losers of four-straight games tried to end their skid on Thursday night against the Broncos. It didn’t go well.

Denver dominated from the outset, taking an early lead and never looking back. By night’s end, New Orleans was on the wrong end of a 33-10 score.

And it wasn’t that close. The Broncos dominated in every way, shape and fashion.

Some will discount the win because the Saints were playing so many backup players. That’s not completely inaccurate, as it was a bit of a B-team for New Orleans. But that doesn’t change the fact that Denver found a little something in the victory.

The Broncos won the game because they dominated up front. On both sides of the ball.

On the night, Denver rushed for 225 yards. They gashed the Saints defense at 6.4 yards per clips.

That’s going to beat anyone. It doesn’t matter if it’s an A-, B- or C-team.

And that’s how the Broncos can win moving forward. They need to rely on their ground attack.

Javonte Williams was very good, rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Jaleel McLaughlin was solid, adding 35. And Bo Nix added 75 yards on the ground.

It’s a good thing the quarterback can run. At this point, the rookie’s passing is a little all over the place. Nix missed a lot of open throws. He had passes that should’ve been intercepted but weren’t. And it didn’t matter.

Why? Because Denver ran the ball so well.

Here’s hoping Sean Payton took notice. A heavy dose of Javonte, Jaleel and whoever else is the formula for success.

So too is relying on the Broncos defense. They dominated on Thursday night, rattling Spencer Rattler all night long. They sacked the rookie QB six times, grinding the New Orleans offense to a halt.

Denver held the Saints to 307 total yards. They were lucky to score 10 points.

While future opponents will be more formidable than the laughingstock that was on the field at the Superdome, that shouldn’t change the game plan. What the Broncos did on Thursday was what they should do the rest of the season.

Run the football. A lot.

Lean on their defense. From the get-go.

Williams is rounding into form. With each passing week, he looks more and more like the runner he was before he suffered a devastating knee injury early in the 2022 season.

Nix is a legitimate threat on the ground. In semi-Tebow fashion, he’s a bit of a fullback playing quarterback. While not Lamar Jackson, the rookie can still get the job done in the running game.

The Broncos passing attack isn’t much. They don’t have great weapons on the outside. And Nix isn’t very accurate. That’s all the more reason to not be a pass-happy team.

Keep it on the ground, Sean! That’s the offensive mantra moving forward.

On the other side of the ball, it’s time to give Vance Joseph his flowers. Denver’s defensive coordinator has done a remarkable job this season, turning a relatively no-name defense into one of the best groups in the NFL.

They were in top form on Thursday night. They made the Saints look silly. Rattler had no answers. New Orleans couldn’t run or throw. They were the definition of inept.

Add it all up and it’s a nice win. It was kind of ugly, providing another Thursday-night snoozer, but it was just what the doctor ordered. Denver should’ve won easily. And they did.

Carry the formula into next week and they can handle the Panthers. Then, it’s time to see if it’ll work against AFC contenders like the Chiefs and Ravens.

Will it? That remains to be seen. But if Denver is going to have any shot against teams like Baltimore and Kansas City, they need to do what they did on Thursday night.

Run the ball. Lean on their defense. And don’t ask Bo Nix to do too much.

It worked this week. It’ll work next week too. It’s time to see how many times it can be the formula for success.

Follow @jamesmerilatt