The Broncos and Saints, who square off every four years, have played only once during linebacker Von Miller’s career. During that game, Miller was unable to sack the New Orleans quarterback. Miller hopes to make it happen during round two.
“I’ve never gotten to Drew Brees,” Miller told reporters on Thursday. “I’ve been close. Our first game when we played in 2012, I was close, but I never really got to him. [Zach] Strief on the right side, he does a pretty good drop. [Andrus] Peat is on the left side, a young guy, but he has all of the measurables and all of the talent in the world. . . . They have an All-Pro at right guard as well so it’s going to be a tough challenge.
“Every week is a tough challenge; this is what makes the NFL great. If we went out every week and got nine sacks on everybody and on every quarterback, it would take out some of the excitement. We’re going against a great quarterback, arguably the best all-around quarterback that we have in the National Football League right now. Going against him and great offensive linemen and a great offense is going to be incredibly tough.”
Making it tougher will be the absence of defensive lineman Derek Wolfe, who has an elbow injury. Cornerback Aqib Talib continues to work his way through a back injury, and safety T.J. Ward missed practice on Thursday with an illness and a sore hamstring.
With or without a full complement of players, it won’t be easy for the Broncos to win in New Orleans against a Saints team that has scratched and clawed its way back to 4-4.
