Broncos' Studs & Duds From 51-14 Xmas Beatdown by Rams
The Denver Broncos gave up a 50-burger on Christmas Day in front of a national audience, falling to the Los Angeles Rams, 51-14.
Denver had another standalone game for the country to see and completely embarrassed itself yet again. The formula is old and tiring, and fans try to continue tuning in every week with all their might.
But not everyone was bad... right? Right?!
Let's sift through the postmortem of Denver's 11th loss of the season with Week 16's studs and duds.
Stud: Jerry Jeudy | WR
The former first-round pick had easily been the Broncos' best player the past month, and this game was no different. Jeudy finished with six catches for 117 yards.
He was regularly finding space in the coverage and providing an outlet for the quarterback when he actually looked his way or wasn't sacked.
Dud: Russell Wilson | QB
Somehow, Wilson has gotten even worse. Perhaps the concussion he suffered two weeks ago had lingering effects, or maybe all the injuries this season have caught up to him, but this performance was downright awful.
Three interceptions and some bad pocket presence for a few sacks. It's like a broken record, but if Wilson doesn't improve this offseason, the Broncos will be buried for years to come.
Stud: Greg Dulcich | TE
The former UCLA Bruin is quietly putting together an impressive rookie campaign, especially considering how tough it is to break through as a rookie tight end historically in the NFL. Four catches for 39 yards and a nice touchdown grab for Dulcich.
He is among just a few Broncos players who are genuine pieces to build around in the future.
Dud: Josey Jewell | ILB
It was a challenging game for 'The Outlaw' after what has been a very successful season to this point. Jewell missed several open-field tackles and struggled in coverage most of the game, although that has never been his strong suit. A day to forget for the linebacker.
Stud: Alex Singleton | ILB
It was an incredibly tough afternoon for the Broncos' defense, and awarding a stud to any member of that unit feels a little funny. Still, a linebacker finishing with 20 tackles is impressive and deserves some credit.
Singleton has been flying around all season, showing why GM George Paton pursued him and added him to this defense in the offseason.
Dud: Broncos O-Line
This critique won't open up too much on play, which wasn't great. The offensive line finds itself on this list for committing a cardinal sin of football: when the quarterback gets sacked or goes down, you go help him up.
On multiple occasions in this game, not only did members of the offensive line not go over to help Wilson to his feet, they even turned away completely when facing him. It's pure speculation, but right after this happened twice on the same drive, backup quarterback Brett Rypien went up to the O-line on the sideline and gave them a piece of his mind, triggering a TV spectacle with Dalton Risner.
This doesn't seem like a coincidence.
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