Of course, after last week, the talk has somewhat shifted to the indomitable New England running game. 234 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns tends to do that. Stevan Ridley, LeGarrette Blount, and Shane Vereen all look to be ready for Sunday. Unfortunately for New England, they won't be able to port the Indianapolis rushing defense with them. Indianapolis finished 22nd in regular season run defense DVOA, and if we add in their playoff games, they would fall to 26th. New England's run offense has been just as good as their pass offense of late, but this was a result that smelled of a hot unit running into a gas can.
Denver's defense has not been very consistent, effective, or consistently effective this season. But the one area where they can claim otherwise is stuffing the run. No Von Miller. No Derek Wolfe. No problem. The Broncos finished ninth with a -14.4% DVOA against the run in the regular season. Then, against the Chargers' 12th-ranked rushing offense, which had a 11.0% DVOA from Week 6 through Wild Card Weekend, they punished the San Diego run game to the tune of a -31.2% single-game DVOA. Without Miller, they've actually been even better in run defense: -11.4% with him, -20.6% without. This is why you sign a nose tackle nicknamed "Pot Roast," folks.