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Greg Cosell's Week 12 Review: How the Broncos knocked off the Patriots

With Brock Osweiler, the Denver Broncos offense continues to look a lot different than it was with Peyton Manning.

Osweiler is under center most snaps, unlike Manning, and it is changing Denver’s run game and its pass game.

Denver put up 433 yards of offense against a good New England Patriots offense. Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson combined for 172 yards, a week after combining for 161 yards in Osweiler’s first start, against the Chicago Bears. In the passing game, Osweiler played smart, poised football and hit some nice throws to help the Broncos pull off the upset.

Two of the biggest plays were in the run game, and they were the exact same play call, just to different sides with a different back.

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Look at this 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter. It’s from “11” personnel (one back, one tight end) with tight bunch to the field side. There was a toss sweep to Hillman with right tackle Michael Schofield and tight end Vernon Davis (the inside man in the bunch) pulling. The Patriots were outflanked right from the snap. The only defenders who could make the play were linebacker Jerod Mayo (51), who was a beat late, and safety Duron Harmon (30).

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In overtime, the Broncos went right back to that play. This time, the field side was to the left, with left tackle Ryan Harris and Davis pulling. Davis kicked out safety Devin McCourty (32) to open the lane, Harris cut down cornerback Malcolm Butler (21) and Harmon missed the tackle in the open field. The 48-yard score won the game.

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The Broncos had success running the ball to the outside. They clearly felt they could win on the edge in the run game. The Broncos stuck with the game plan too, even when they were behind by 14 points.

And ultimately, Osweiler made plays despite the Patriots putting a lot of pressure on him.

On a number of plays the Patriots brought second-level defenders on delayed blitzed after the pass protection was deployed. Here's an example from the third quarter. This resulted in an incomplete pass on third down:

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The blitz caused some problems throughout the game, as the Patriots were very effective with it. Despite the snowy weather conditions, the deficit the Broncos were in for most of the game and the numerous big hits Osweiler took, he stayed poised.

Osweiler doesn’t have a strong arm, but his arm strength is good enough. And he made a big-time throw with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Patriots ran a man free blitz, and Emmanuel Sanders ran a go route on Butler. He got on top of him quickly and Osweiler dropped a throw right in the bucket.

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Then Osweiler’s poise against the rush showed up again on a go-ahead touchdown later in the drive. Andre Caldwell ran a slot fade out of an empty set. The Patriots again ran a delayed blitz with Mayo, but Osweiler got the ball out in the timing of the route for a touchdown.

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Overall Osweiler played very well, with the weather, having to come from behind, the shots he took and the quality of the defense he was playing against. He played smart, poised football. It was impressive for a quarterback making just his second career start.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.