After upset win over Cowboys, Broncos aim to…

There are a slew of reasons why the Broncos have returned to the win column in the last two weeks, but Denver’s third-down performance is certainly among the most important.

Through the first seven weeks of the season, the Broncos converted just 31.8 percent of their third-down attempts, which ranked 27th in the NFL. Over the last two weeks, that rate has improved in dramatic fashion. In wins over Washington and Dallas, the Broncos are a combined 15-of-28 (53.6 percent) on third down.

“Well, we’ve avoided the third-and-really-really-longs,” Fangio said of the team’s improved success. “That’s one place to start. We’ve converted some third-and-8s, third-and-9s and third-and-10s, which we weren’t doing earlier. Any time you can do that and keep the drive going, you get a new set of downs, and it gives you a chance to hand it off another time or two and run a play[-action] pass or two. You get a rhythm then. … You’re going to face a third down eventually, and you have to convert them.”

As the Broncos built a 27-0 lead in a little more than three quarters, Denver took advantage of its short third downs and converted several of the long opportunities.

The Broncos were 4-of-5 when facing third-and-3 or fewer, and they also converted five times when facing at least third-and-8.

SHIFTING IN THE SECONDARY

The Broncos may have to do some more shuffling in their secondary after cornerback Pat Surtain II exited the game with a knee injury. The injury is not expected to be season-ending, but the Broncos would need to shift some players around if Surtain must miss time.

Ronald Darby should remain one of the outside cornerbacks, and Fangio said Darby has settled in well the last two weeks.

“He’s played better the last two weeks,” Fangio said. “I thought the first week or two after he came back from IR, he was, for lack of a better word, rusty. I think he’s more confident and more comfortable now, both getting back mentally, and playing within the defense to where the hamstring [injury] is history to him.”

Kyle Fuller, who received a game ball after playing nickel corner, left corner and right corner during Sunday’s game, could also be an option on the outside for the Broncos. Fangio said he’ll have to see how the injuries develop before he is certain of where Fuller will play, but he was pleased with the way Fuller handled the challenge against the Cowboys.

“There’s a guy yesterday that has never played nickel in his whole career,” Fangio said. “He got a three-day crash course on it and was set to play. Then he had to go to left corner first, and then he had to go to right corner, or vice versa. He was ready. Kyle is a pro. He hasn’t been happy with his role here of late. We’ve talked about it, but he was ready to go. He embraced the challenge of playing nickel with one week of preparation.”

Fuller had played just four snaps over the last three weeks before he played 60-of-62 snaps against Dallas.

If Fuller were to return to the outside cornerback spot where he played earlier in the season, Nate Hairston could be an option to play in the slot. Hairston has played 48 defensive snaps over the last two weeks. The Broncos also activated cornerback Duke Dawson Jr. from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list on Monday. Dawson has appeared in 26 games since the team traded for him in 2019.

Cornerback Essang Bassey, who was designated for return to practice last week, could potentially also be an option if he’s healthy. Bassey started three games and played 382 defensive snaps for the Broncos last year.