It was announced today by the Broncos organization that slot cornerback Chris Harris has suffered a season-ending knee injury. Harris suffered a torn ACL in the third quarter of the Broncos' 24-17 Divisional Round win over the San Diego Chargers, and will undergo surgery within the next couple weeks.
The third year corner, has emerged as one of the Broncos' most reliable defensive players after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2011, and his loss should give any Broncos fan reason to worry. This season, Harris started 15 of 16 games, ranking 4th on the Broncos in tackles (65), tied for 1st in interceptions (3), and was 2nd on the team in passes defended (16). Losing Harris, arguably the best slot corner in the entire league, opens up a huge hole on defense as the Broncos prepare to host the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Harris' loss was felt as soon as he left the game on Sunday against the Chargers, as his replacement, Quentin Jammer gave up two touchdown passes in the second half. Prior to Harris' exit, the Broncos had practically shut out the Chargers' pass game, and their entire offense for that matter, posting a shutout until the young corner left the game. Once Harris went down with injuries, however, the Broncos game up scoring drives of 63, 80, and 48 yards, resulting in a 24-17 end result, after leading 17-0 at half.
With the Patriots due for a visit Sunday afternoon, the Broncos will need one of Champ Bailey, Kayvon Webster, Quentin Jammer, or all three to step up in Harris' absence. Champ Bailey seems like the best bet to fill in for Harris, as he has the most experience of the three defensive backs; however, Bailey has been primarily been playing in nickel situations since returning from an ankle injury that has hampered him all season. With Rob Gronkowski out for the Pats, the most dangerous weapons in the pass game are Danny Amendola, Shane Vereen, and Julian Edelman, who can move all over the field, but are prominently used in slot positions in the New England offense. Ideally, the Broncos could move Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie inside against the trio of Amendola, Vereen, and Edelman, and move Bailey or Jammer to the outside of the field, where they have predominantly played in the past. Moving DRC inside would also provide the Broncos with another tough tackler inside to replace Harris in order to combat the recently-established tough Patriots rushing offense. Kayvon Webster, who is working his way back from a wrist injury that he suffered late in the season and has played snaps at slot corner this season, must also elevate his game in the absence of Harris. Webster's most impressive quality is his open field tackling, a quality that will be important for the Broncos to slow down the revitalized LeGarrette Blount, who scored four touchdowns against the Colts in the Divisional Round.
While this is a huge defensive loss, the solution lies most prominently with the Broncos' high-powered offense. The entire season, the Broncos have relied on out-scoring teams to win and this game will be no different; in order to move forward to the Super Bowl, the onus will fall on the offense to simply outscore their opponents. Luckily, the Patriots have also been plagued with defensive injuries throughout the season, which sets the stage for a potential offensive shootout next Sunday.
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