How the Broncos Shut Down Jonathan Stewart and the Panthers' Run Game

Feb 10, 2016

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2-11-CAR 46 (Q2, 15:00) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton scrambles left tackle to DEN 43 for 11 yards (43-T.Ward).

This was scored as a “scramble.” It’s not. It’s a designed QB draw. This is clear because every eligible receiver starts blocking at the snap. However, the threat of a pass is also important to the success of the play. The pass action opens the running lane for Cam. First, it is clear that Shane Ray goes into his pass rush, which is a speed rush around the edge. Secondly, and this is less obvious but actually more important, the Broncos are playing man coverage on defense here. Trevathan is assigned to Mike Tolbert. The pass action with Tolbert running across the formation causes Trevathan to take steps after him. Had this been a zone defense, the running lane wouldn’t have existed because Trevathan would have just dropped into the zone and been able to react to the play. Instead, Newton has a lot of room to work with and picks up a first down.

2-3-DEN 36 (Q2, 13:17) (Shotgun) 28-J.Stewart up the middle to DEN 34 for 2 yards (95-D.Wolfe, 59-D.Trevathan).

This is another inside zone run. This is another failure of blocking up front by the Panthers’ offensive interior. First, LG Andrew Norwell fails on his block against Malik Jackson. Jackson rips, gets Norwell totally off balance, flashes in front of Stewart, and gets his arms around his legs. Stewart may have been able to power through, but his hole closes quick as Trevathan sidesteps Kalil to meet Stewart. Vance Walker also twisted to take out Stewart’s legs, and Wolfe got in on the pile too. The Broncos’ DL won across the board here.

1-1-DEN 1 (Q2, 11:28) 28-J.Stewart left guard for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.

On these short goal line situations, the goal for the offensive line is to chop down the defensive line and get in the way of the LBs to allow the RB to jump over top of them. The Panthers do this, and Stewart gets great elevation on his jump for the TD.

1-10-CAR 49 (Q2, 10:46) (Shotgun) 28-J.Stewart up the middle to DEN 49 for 2 yards (97-M.Jackson, 59-D.Trevathan).

This play is won by Malik Jackson. He simply controls Oher, is able to drag him to the inside, and get his arm on Stewart to slow him down. Great support by the LBs as well to finish off the tackle.

2-10-CAR 20 (Q2, 6:55) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton left guard to CAR 34 for 14 yards (58-V.Miller, 43-T.Ward). PENALTY on DEN-97-M.Jackson, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced at CAR 34.

Cam Newton was by far the Panthers’ most successful runner on the day. His six runs yielding 45 yards, almost 8 per carry. He was the Panthers’ leading rusher. In the modern NFL, when we think of QBs running, the read option comes to mind immediately. Newton is much more than just an option runner, but this is a read option play. The thing is, the normal roles of the QB and RB are reversed. Newton has the dive, and Whittaker has the sweep. Because Ray defends against the sweep, Newton keeps the ball. This time, a double team on Jackson by Norwell/Oher is effective, and Trai Turner pulls and seals off Trevathan. This leaves Cam with a nice hole to run through and he picks up 14.

1-10-CAR 49 (Q2, 6:39) (Shotgun) 35-M.Tolbert right tackle to DEN 40 for 11 yards (26-D.Stewart). FUMBLES (26-D.Stewart), RECOVERED by DEN-59-D.Trevathan at DEN 40.

Remember this play? It’s the same triple option tackle-over play that Whittaker got 15 on earlier in the game. Well, kind of.This time, Norwell pulls and Newton hands off to Tolbert, and the play works just as well as it did last time. Tolbert has a huge hole and runs for 11 yards before being contacted. That’s great, right? Well, not really. Because that contact was Darian Stewart’s helmet to the ball. When a defender gets his helmet on the ball, it’s pretty hard to hold on to. Tolbert fumbles for the second time in the game, and the Broncos recover. What would have been a nice pickup to get the Panthers into scoring range turned into a turnover.

2-10-CAR 39 (Q2, 4:16) (Shotgun) 43-F.Whittaker right tackle to CAR 39 for no gain (92-S.Williams; 95-D.Wolfe).

Here, the Panthers try a toss sweep. They pull Kalil and Remmers, with the intent of having a convoy to block for Whittaker along the edge. DeMarcus Ware does a good job of setting the edge, which forces Whittaker to look inside, but I think the play mainly fails because Whittaker makes a poor decision. There is a hole for him to run through on the front side of the play, although Aqib Talib is in it. As an RB, you need to be able to beat a CB in the hole. Whittaker needs to take that. Instead, he tries to cut the run back, which defeats the purpose of his linemen’s blocks. They are trying to seal off the hole, and when Whittaker cuts back it allows Williams and Wolfe to disengage from their blocks easily to make the tackle.

1-10-CAR 19 (Q2, 1:55) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton scrambles right tackle to CAR 22 for 3 yards (25-C.Harris).

This is another QB Draw. Like we saw earlier, the pass action drew the edge rusher (this time DeMarcus Ware) upfield. THe double team on Wolfe isn’t as successful as the one of Jackson was earlier, but it still allowed Cam to get the edge. Bradley Roby came up to support, and then Chris Harris Jr. beat Brown’s block. He was the one to take Newton down before he could reach the edge, and minimized the gain.

3-2-CAR 49 (Q2, :23) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 1-C.Newton right guard to DEN 45 for 6 yards (20-J.Bush, 43-T.Ward).

This is the play that makes Cam more difficult to defend as a runner than any other QB in the league. This is QB Power. It’s the traditional power run, with the guard pulling and a fullback (Whittaker in this case) as the lead blocker through the hole. This is a bread and butter running play for man blocking offenses. The difference is they’re normally handing it off to a RB. Cam running gives the offense one more player than it would normally have, and the threat of a pass keeps the defense in check, so it’s not like the Wildcat where the defense can sell out against the run. It’s third and 2, and the Panthers just need a first down here. Running is kind of a questionable clock management decision, but they did a have a timeout left. Cam gets the first down with ease. Olsen didn’t do a great job of blocking Barrett, who helped make the tackle, but the Panthers achieved their goal here.