Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior Writer 6y

A run game would help Trevor Siemian against Jets

DENVER – The Denver Broncos have long been proud of their homefield advantage.

They’ve always loved the fact the stadium sits at 5,280 feet above sea level as they have plastered warning signs for altitude sickness outside the visitor’s locker room. And they’ve always loved their current sellout streak that dates to 1970.

But Sunday’s game could be a different experience if the team’s faithful choose to get some holiday shopping done rather than watch a team that has an eight-game losing streakĀ and hasn’t won since Oct. 1. The Broncos will technically have a sellout – again – but how many of those folks will actually put themselves in the seats remains to be seen.

“It’s been a hard season for all of us, the fans included," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “We understand the frustrations; we have them also. Our goal is to play well for our fans and I can promise our fans one thing, they will play hard for them on Sunday. ... If a bad play happens and they boo some, we get it. We understand, but our goal is to win for our fans and our football team on Sunday."

With that in mind here are some things to watch for in the Broncos-Jets game (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS):

Run the ball already: The Jets come into Sunday’s game ranked No. 24 in the NFL against the run – they’ve allowed 119.7 rushing yards per game – and six of their opponents have rushed for at least 140 yards. But that kind of matchup hasn’t always coaxed the Broncos to keep the ball on the ground this season. They have losses this season to five of the bottom seven defenses against the run, and the Broncos have not run the ball more than they’ve passed it in any of those five games. Broncos running back C.J. Anderson needs 348 yards over the Broncos’ last four games for the first 1,000-yard rushing season in his career. The Broncos haven’t had a running back get more than 15 carries in a game since Anderson had 20 against the Oakland Raiders in Week 4.

Get McCown unsettled: Jets quarterback Josh McCown has had back-to-back 300-yard passing games with 307 yards against the Carolina Panthers and 331 in the Jets’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday. McCown is in his 15th season so he has seen his share of things from opposing defenses. It also means McCown figures to do what plenty of other opposing quarterbacks have done this season and get the ball to tight ends and running backs in the passing game. McCown has been sacked 35 times this season – the second-highest total among starters in the league – so the Broncos should have opportunities to force the issue in the pass rush.

Settle in at quarterback: Trevor Siemian will make his second consecutive start in what is his second stint at quarterback this season – he was initially benched after a three-interception game in the Oct. 30 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs – and he is coming off a three-interception game in the loss to the Miami Dolphins last Sunday. Siemian didn’t play with the kind of confidence last Sunday that won him the job in two consecutive training camps and even when he wasn’t under pressure from the Dolphins’ pass rush he acted as if he was. The Broncos could help his cause by getting a run game going and sticking with it. And the Broncos running backs could also win one on ones in the passing game and it would provide Siemian with some safe throws to get some early tempo in the game.

Find a reason: The Broncos’ losing streak is their longest since 1967 and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, a first-round pick in 2010, is the only player in the locker room who has been with the Broncos the last time they went through a season this bad – a 4-12 finish in 2010. So, this team hasn’t always reacted well to the rough spots – they are 0-8 when trailing at halftime, 0-9 when trailing after three quarters. The Broncos will have two games in five days with the Jets and then the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night. Their bye came in Week 5, so it has been a long haul to get to the potential days off following the trip to Indianapolis. But this is a team mired in a funk that could either find a little momentum in the next five days or find rock bottom. As linebacker Von Miller said, “Every guy has to find something to play for. We have to. I don’t want to finish like this."

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