Broncos' Biggest Studs & Duds from 22-9 Loss to Chiefs
The ugly version of the Denver Broncos showed up on prime time in what has been a Jekyll and Hyde season. The Broncos got whipped on both sides of the ball and, of course, had another special teams snafu as fans watched the Kansas City Chiefs best them handily, 22-9.
There were many Broncos that were just plain bad and only a few that had a solid game or anything noteworthy. In this week's postmortem, here are the studs and duds.
Stud: Javonte Williams | RB
Williams was the main focus of the offense and really the only significant contributor. Frankly, all the other skill players on the offense were quiet in the biggest game of the year.
Williams ran hard, as usual, carrying Chiefs defenders for extra yards on most plays. He finished the game with 23 carries for 102 yards and added six receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown. He was the only real star for the Broncos and made history along the way.
Dud: Teddy Bridgewater | QB
Bridgewater is an average quarterback who happens to be having a career season. That career season is not anything remotely approaching elite, however. This was very evident on Sunday night.
Teddy threw an absolutely horrendous interception which completely turned the tide in the third quarter. Before that, he was flagged for an intentional grounding that ruined any chances of Denver getting a touchdown when it drove into the red zone early in the game.
Finally, Bridgewater's tipped pass in the fourth quarter that was picked off and returned for a touchdown sealed the victory for the Chiefs. He finished 22-of-40 for 257 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions and a passer rating of 62.2. Most of his stats came in garbage time after the game was decided.
Stud: Quinn Meinerz | OG
Meinerz had his mistakes on Sunday, but that is expected from a rookie still developing. With that said, he never stops working. He is always looking for someone to block.
Meinerz was the first offensive lineman downfield, pushing the pile on those angry runs by Williams. He is developing into the Broncos' best interior lineman and has a bright future.
Dud: Bradley Chubb | OLB
When GM George Paton traded away Von Miller at the deadline, the team was hoping that the return of Chubb would provide an elite pass rush. Since his return in Week 12, though, Chubb has logged zero sacks and zero impact plays.
As a former top-5 pick, Chubb has to be an impact player, but he has been as quiet as a church mouse. Big-time players are supposed to show up in big-time games. What does that make Chubb?
Stud: Justin Simmons | S
It was a quiet game for Simmons, but he did what he needed to do to execute the game plan. He kept the dynamic Chiefs offense from making big plays.
It was all for not, but the Broncos' defensive game plan was to make the Chiefs’ offense work for every yard. Simmons did his part in achieving that — even if the box score doesn’t show a great day for him.
Did: Vic Fangio | HC
Fangio made a mistake before the game started by making Mike Purcell a healthy scratch. The best players should be on the field and Purcell is one of the team’s best defensive linemen and best run stuffer.
The decision was made in hopes of creating more of a pass rush, but it didn’t work as the Chiefs were able to churn out four and five yards on each rush, especially on first down, making the conversions easy.
Furthermore, Fangio hates using timeouts. He failed to use them correctly to end the half when the Broncos needed to get some points badly.
Once again, Fangio looked confused on the sideline and frankly, it won't be long before he returns to his familiar role as an NFL defensive coordinator.
Follow Thomas on Twitter @ThomasHallNFL.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
