Vance Joseph on Broncos’ close win: ‘Our standard has to be higher’

Don’t get Vance Joseph wrong.

He’s thrilled that his Denver Broncos opened the season with a victory.

‘That should have been a comfortable win for us’

It’s just that the Broncos’ coach knew, based on what the stat sheet reflected, his team could have done better than just get by the Seattle Seahawks, 27-24.

“Our standard’s got to be higher than that,” Joseph told Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Movin’ The Chains. The Broncos had 25 first downs to the Seahawks’ 13. They limited Seattle to 2-of-12 on third-down conversations, had a 164-yard edge in total net yards and had the ball about 10 minutes longer.

‘That team’s a great team and Russell (Wilson’s) going to always keep them in the game’

“With those kind of numbers, if we don’t give the ball away and we contain the tight end on two or three plays, that should have been a comfortable win for us,” Joseph said. “But it wasn’t, because that team’s a great team and Russell (Wilson’s) going to always keep them in the game.”

Still, Joseph was proud of his team.

‘Playing through adversity and getting the win is huge for us’

“We had some bright spots in all three phases: offense, defense and special teams,” he said. “And, obviously, playing through adversity and getting the win is huge for us, especially at home Week 1 versus a very, very good football team.

“But that being said, we gave the ball away three times and we gave up three or four or five explosive plays. So our standard wasn’t met on Sunday, but we’re happy to get the win versus a very good team. But our standard has to be higher than that if we’re going to put that much work in to not squeak a victory, to have a convincing victory.”

‘Anyone who knows Case (Keenum) will tell you how confident of a guy he is’

This is what Joseph had to say about Case Keenum throwing three interceptions in his debut as the Broncos’ quarterbacks: “Anyone who knows Case will tell you how confident of a guy he is. He knows he belongs. After every interception, the next drive he has on fire. That’s a reflection of who Case is. After the first interception, the next drive he was four-out-of-four with a touchdown pass. And after the second interception, the next drive he was six-for-seven with a touchdown for our offense. Every mistake, he bounced back with production. And that’s Case. He’s a confident guy, he believes he can. He’s our guy and our team believes in him.”

This is what the coach had to say about the three sacks, four QB hits, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery by outside linebacker Von Miller: “Von had a great day, but that speaks to our team philosophy. If we can score points and get a lead, we can rush the passer. And we have four special rushers with Von and (Bradley) Chubb and Shaq Barrett and Shane Ray. Our defense is built on playing with the lead and if we get a lead, we can turn our pass-rushers loose, especially Von. That was special.”