ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Offensive guard Dalton Risner and other Broncos blockers pulled left to right so many times Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, it harkened to the days of the famed Packers Sweep of the 1960s.
Then it was Vince Lombardi’s bread-and-butter play that built a dynasty. Guards Fuzzy Thurston and Jerry Kramer would pull and lead the way for running backs Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung.
When the Broncos steamrolled the Dolphins for 189 yards rushing Sunday, it was more off tackle counter plays than traditional sweep. But still it was Risner, even left tackle Garett Bolles and occasionally center Lloyd Cushenberry III who would kick out and led the way for the Broncos’ running back tandem of Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay, who combined for 166 yards rushing on 31 carries in a 20-13 win.
Why all these years after the Packers Sweep was declared antiquated did Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and offensive line coach Mike Munchak bring the blocking scheme back to so much success on Sunday?
"Well part of the reason is -- and you hit on it, you went all the way back to the 60s there -- Miami plays some fronts that were popular in the 60s," Fangio said in his day-after-game Zoom call Monday. "We played those fronts too here, we mix and match, disguise them a little bit more. So because of the way they play their defense those runs were appealing to us. We put them in and the guys did a great job of executing them."
Lombardi’s Packers won five NFL championships in the 1960s – 1961, ’62, ’65 and the first two Super Bowls to finish 1966 and 1967. And so more than 50 years later, Vince meets Vic.
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