As soon as Broncos cornerback A.J. Bouye was injured Monday night, the Tennessee Titans identified Essang Bassey.
At the snap, Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill looked one direction — left toward receiver Adam Humphries. Catching Bassey flat-footed, Tannehill threw nine yards to Humphries.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter and a second-and-10 play with 1:55 remaining. The Titans identified Michael Ojemudia.
At the snap, Tannehill again looked one direction — left toward receiver A.J. Brown. Working against Ojemudia, Brown quickly closed the 10-yard cushion and forced Ojemudia to commit a 16-yard pass interference penalty.
Ojemudia and Bassey, after holding up adequately in Week 1, should expect the same kind of attention from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Sunday.
“There’s no question you have to earn your stripes against stud quarterbacks,” Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell said.
Finding a way to contain Roethlisberger and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster would be a huge stripe on the figurative sleeve for Ojemudia and Bassey, who played 64 and 45 snaps, respectively, against the Titans.
“They didn’t set us back at all,” Donatell said. “That’s pretty tough to do to enter in a pro football game and play and play in rhythm with our team.”
Emphasis on “pretty tough.”
No in-person offseason program meant Ojemudia and Bassey weren’t on the field until a month before the opener and they had no preseason games to assimilate to NFL speed.
Ojemudia missed a good chunk of camp with a quad injury, but was healthy enough to earn the No. 3 job, and his interception was negated by an Alexander Johnson personal foul. Ojemudia had two tackles and one pass break-up.
Bassey was a part of the original game plan as sixth defensive back in the Broncos’ dime package — he just played more than expected. He had five tackles.
“For it to be their first NFL game without even preseason games, just all practice and camp, they stepped in and played very well,” safety Kareem Jackson said.
Bouye is on injured reserve for at least three weeks, creating a top-three cornerback group of Bryce Callahan, Ojemudia and Bassey.
The dilemma for coach/defensive play-caller Vic Fangio: Pressure or not?
The case for bringing extra pressure is to force Roethlisberger, being protected by a patchwork offensive line, to throw quicker than he wants, relieving stress on Ojemudia and Bassey.
The case for rushing four and dropping seven is it will allow Fangio to play more zone coverage and allow the young cornerbacks to keep the play in front of them. Again, a stress reliever.
“That’s a balance you have to decide each and every week regardless of who you have in the secondary,” Fangio said. “With a guy like Roethlisberger, who’s experienced and seen it all, we’ll have to have a good mix. The youth is a part of it, but not the big part.”
The big part for the Broncos is if Ojemudia and Bassey can build on their debuts.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Donatell said. “(Assistant coaches Renaldo Hill and Chris Beake) have been working around the clock with those guys. It’s a credit to the players for having the spirit to work with the coaches and advance in a short period of time.”
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