3 Takeaways from Broncos' 38-10 Win Over Lions
Broncos Country has been forced to endure a heartbreaking few days following the news of Demaryius Thomas’ unexpected death on Thursday. The rumors first circulated on social media towards the end of the week before confirmation revealed that the Denver Broncos' No. 2 wide receiver all-time and Super Bowl 50 champion had been battling medical complications including seizures.
Needless to say, the Broncos’ Week 14 matchup against the Detroit Lions would be an emotionally charged atmosphere at Empower Field at Mile High. The team set up a small memorial to ‘DT’ where fans and former teammates could pay their respects in addition to the players wearing a No. 88 decal on helmets, along with on-field dedications to the four-time Pro Bowler.
The game started with Denver’s offense sending out 10 players — minus the X-receiver position — in dedication to DT before Courtland Sutton took the field. In a classy move, Detroit declined the delay of game penalty.
From there, the game that provided Thomas a platform to share his warm heart and generosity got underway to the Mile High City. The Broncos stared down the barrel of a must-win scenario to keep their AFC postseason hopes alive compared to the one-win Lions, who hoped to earn back-to-back wins after battling an influenza outbreak this past week.
The game was exciting with both teams trading blows in the first half, but it was the Broncos that reigned supreme in a 38-10 win. What did we learn from Denver's seventh win of the season?
Let’s review three key takeaways from the Broncos' final NFC opponent of the season.
Broncos Defense Honors D.T. Big-Time
After a closely played first half, the Broncos led the Lions 17-10 as the third quarter began in Denver. On the first offensive series for the Lions, RB Godwin Igwebuike had the football stripped by Broncos DL Shelby Harris. Denver OLB Jonathan Cooper recovered the fumble as the crowd at Mile High erupted.
But as Cooper rushed to his feet, he was joined alongside teammates rejoicing in the turnover. Team captain Justin Simmons was seen trailing Cooper, rushing with the football to the south side of the end zone, almost as if he was directing the rookie pass rusher to pay homage to Thomas.
Moments later, the former Ohio State Buckeye placed the football on the Orange and Blue spray-painted tribute of No. 88 on the field, close to where Thomas celebrated his iconic 80-yard catch-and-run touchdown in overtime to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in January of 2012.
On the very next defensive series, DL Dre’Mont Jones unleashed absolute hell on the Lions' offense. Another former Buckeye, the third-year Jones shut down Detroit QB Jared Goff and the offense virtually single-handedly as he recorded his second sack of the game, a tackle for loss, and deflected pass in simultaneous order on the same series.
There’s no doubt that Vic Fangio’s defense was fired up after the forced turnover to start the second half and felt the heartfelt energy of Broncos Country in the stands. Once the defense knew that the Lions were wounded, it relentlessly continued to hunt.
Jones’ dominant performance consisted of three tackles, two sacks, and one pass deflection. Simmons would later record his fifth interception of the season in the fourth quarter and followed suit by honoring his former teammate with the same football on the same painted No. 88. In six out of the last seven games, this defense has held opponents to 17 points or less.
Prior to the second half, there were definitely some boo birds out at Mile High as a response to a stagnant series or two on both sides of the ball. After all, Broncos Country has been fooled before.
But after the Broncos dedicated a takeaway to Thomas’ memory, there was nothing but positive energy and red-hot momentum for the home team from there on out.
Williams Should be RB1
Say what you want about Broncos OC Pat Shurmur, but the man is consistent when it comes to the running back depth chart. Since rookie sensation Javonte Williams earned the RB2 role in training camp, he’s become one of the league’s most dynamic players, bringing home NFL Rookie of the Week and Good Morning Football's ‘Angry Runs’ honors.
None of that hype seems to have been good enough to supplant Melvin Gordon as the Broncos' starting back, though. After returning from a hip injury that sidelined him last week, Gordon started the game for a Broncos offense that got off to a red-hot start on the ground.
The combination of both Gordon and Williams allowed the offense to capitalize on an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that concluded with the rookie running over two Lions defenders for a five-yard score. This was just the second time this season that the Broncos have scored on the opening drive, and the third consecutive game with a touchdown for the rookie back.
Gordon was later listed as questionable to return to the action with a hand injury but remerged in the second series as the Broncos' offense once again hit paydirt on a one-yard touchdown plunge. It marked the first time all season that Shurmur’s offense scored back-to-back touchdowns shared between the two-headed rushing monster of Gordon and Williams.
Just as they’ve done for the majority of the season, both backs were utilized to ground and pound between the tackles and were each successful in his own right. Gordon is putting out film for his next team — as the veteran back will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
I get that teams don’t want to burn off all the tread on a rookie's tires and Gordon, a former first-rounder from Wisconsin, has played exceptionally well this season but it’s past time for ‘Pookie’ to be named the starter for the rest of the season. There’s literally nothing more the former North Carolina star can do to prove to his coaches or teammates that he is deserving of the coveted mantle.
For a second straight game, the greenhorn back caught a touchdown after hauling in a 10-yard score from QB Teddy Bridgewater in the third quarter on a third-down in the red zone. Williams finished the game with 15 rushes for 73 yards and one rushing score in addition to logging a catch for 10 yards and another touchdown.
Mike Boone was placed on the team’s reserve/COVID list over the weekend, missing Sunday’s matchup after his strong Broncos debut last week at Arrowhead. It’d be nice to see Boone sprinkled into the offense more moving forward as he brings a nice change-of-pace style in addition to being a solid special teams contributor.
Late in the third quarter, Gordon notched his second rushing touchdown of the day on a 14-yard run and finished the game with a total of 111 yards and two scores. While Gordon had an exceptional performance against the Lions, it's time for him to be the ‘Robin’ to the rookie's ‘Batman’ for the remaining four games.
Someone, Confiscate Fangio's Challenge Flag
As if there wasn’t enough evidence that Fangio has struggled to lead this team, the defensive guru earned another bad mark against the Lions on Sunday. Late in the third quarter, Lions TE Brock Wright caught a screen pass on first down and proceeded to lose the football at the end of the play, with the receiver being whistled down by contact on the field.
Wright was clearly down and the video evidence supported the referees' call on the field to everyone — except for Fangio — who opted to challenge the play arguing the runner was not down by contact, hence the fumble.
The challenge was lost, revealing that Fangio has only won a single challenge out of the seven he's disputed this season. This was the second straight week where Fangio lost a similar challenge. When asked about the primetime challenge from last week, he doubled down, saying, “I think it was a good challenge.”
Normally, I wouldn’t bust a coach’s chops over losing challenges, however, the sad fact that Fangio has only won a single challenge this season shouldn’t sit well with GM George Paton. It further supports the argument that the head coach lacks awareness, presence of mind, and a general understanding of what's going on as the leader of the Broncos, rather than strictly the defense.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with being aggressive and taking chances. However, being trusted to do so must be earned and I’m not sure that Fangio's game-time decisions, including challenges, are worth counting on.
The Broncos' head coach has quickly earned the reputation for being stale on the sidelines in terms of his demeanor and energy. Don’t expect much to change the last four games against the Cincinnati Bengals, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.
With Sunday's win, Fangio’s team is now 7-6 with the head coach currently standing with a 19-26 record in two-and-three-quarters seasons.
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