Broncos Must Have an Answer to the Threat Tyreek Hill Presents

The Miami Dolphins have one of the fastest offenses in the NFL and plenty of speed that will challenge the reeling Denver Broncos' defense. Even if Jaylen Waddle doesn't play in the game, that is still an extremely dangerous offense.

The Broncos' defense has been on the field for 17 non-kneel down drives and has allowed scores on 10, with three more allowing scoring opportunities. It's hard to imagine a rapid turnaround after getting thrashed by the Washington Commanders offense, especially for the final 35 minutes of the game.

With 20 non-kneel down drives by the Dolphins' offense, they've had 11 scoring drives, with two more missed scoring drives. Three of the drives have ended with the Dolphins shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers. If the Dolphins stay out of their own way, they can have a day against the struggling Broncos' defense.

Tyreek Hill is a significant problem for this Broncos defense and can be the avenue for success in the game. Hill has played 11 games against the Broncos and has never lost. While he hasn't taken over the games statistically, he has made critical catch after critical catch.

Before getting into more of what Hill has done, let's look at what he hasn't done in his career against the Broncos. Perhaps the most intriguing is that he's never had a 100-yard receiving game, despite four games with double-digit targets.

Hill has never turned those games into double-digit catches. On top of that, he has only five receiving touchdowns in his career against the Broncos, with two more rushing.

Denver has managed to limit him statistically, but whenever the Kansas City Chiefs needed a play, Hill was ready to make it.

To start this year, Hill is healthy and still playing at a high level. He has 255 yards on 16 catches for three touchdowns. That's a 15.9 yards-per-catch average, so look for Miami to do whatever it can to get Hill matched up with Damarri Mathis.

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If Waddle doesn't play, it would mitigate the matchup with Hill. The Dolphins' wide receiver depth isn't great, so Waddle being in concussion protocol and trending toward not playing helps the Broncos some.

That said, Mike McDaniel has done a great job over his short head-coaching career to dictate matchups for the Miami offense. In a way, he is a mad genius with how he sets up the offense, so even if Denver tries to match Patrick Surtain II against Hill, there will be the reps of Hill on Mathis.

When Surtain is on Hill, the Dolphins still have a solid matchup. Hill is as quick as he is fast, which isn't Surtain's strongest suit. Surtain has excellent straight speed, but changing direction, he's been caught slipping over his career.

So when matched up with Surtain, it wouldn't be surprising to see Hill running short to medium routes that force a change of direction. If the Broncos are in zone coverage, it opens the door for Hill to find the soft spot, which he does quite well.

As for Mathis, everyone knows of his struggles so far this season. He has allowed 15 catches for 178 yards and three touchdowns over the season's first two games. There are issues with every aspect of his game. The thought of Hill working against Mathis is, understandably, nightmare-inducing for Broncos fans.

Vance Joseph, who isn't the only one to blame for the Broncos' defensive issues, has his work cut out. He has to come up with a way to keep Hill contained. It may be easy to say pressure Tua Tagovailoa, but Hill can get open quickly and provide a pressure-beating target for the Dolphins quarterback.

Tagovailoa has the second-fastest average time to throw in the NFL at 2.23 seconds. Moreover, on passes under 2.5 seconds to throw, he has an average depth of target of 7.6 yards, which is the second-highest, and he leads in first-down throws.

Tagovailoa has the third-lowest percentage of pressured dropbacks but has completed only 8-of-18 pressure passing attempts, with one interception, and has only sacked once. Getting pressure is difficult when you have receivers who can quickly open.

Eight of Hill's 16 catches have come under 10 yards, as have 10 of his 24 targets. He has turned that into 68 yards and two touchdowns, though with 19 yards after the catch.

There's no doubt that Hill is Tagovailoa's safety net. That makes the dynamic receiver even harder to defend, which is why he is the biggest threat offensive threat to the Broncos. However, if Waddle plays, it'll be Waddle.

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