First up for the Broncos when they returned to practice Tuesday after a mini-bye weekend: First and second down.
Coach Vic Fangio used the bonus workout to concentrate on the Broncos’ woeful early-down work offensively and defensively.
“That’s where a lot of our problems have originated from,” Fangio said. “We’ve had too many third-and-longs (offensively) and the other night (at Cleveland), we had too many third-and-1s on defense.”
The Browns converted all six of their third-and-1 chances in last week’s 17-14 win.
The Broncos’ offense has had season-long problems producing on early downs, which have led to low-percentage third-down plays.