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It went just about as expected on Sunday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High as the Denver Broncos knocked off the Detroit Lions 27-17. The Lions might be the most injured team in all of football, and sans their starting quarterback, they had issues trying to gain momentum against a feisty Broncos defense that looked like they were playing for vengeance on the heels of a brutal showing against Kansas City last week.

Denver came out flat to start the game, allowing the Lions to march down the field and score an opening-drive field goal, but from that point on, the game wasn't nearly as close as the final score would indicate. Denver dominated a team that they should have, moving to 6-9 on the season.

It was a great game to evaluate the young talent on the roster, and several players stepped up in a big way.

Rather than give the biggest takeaways from the game, let's have a look at the top performances from the young core on the roster.

Who makes the cut this week?

Dre'Mont Jones | DL: 2 Sacks, 4 Tackles

After Derek Wolfe went down for the season with a dislocated elbow a couple of weeks ago, Jones has been able to truly show his colors as a building block for the Broncos' defensive line. Jones really showed out against a Lions' offensive line that had their way at times with the Broncos' defensive front.

Jones was a monster on Sunday, with three solo tackles and a pair of sacks on undrafted rookie QB David Bough. Two of his tackles came behind the line of scrimmage, and his penetration in the pass rush helped the Broncos collect four sacks as a team.

Jones had arguably the best performance of his rookie season, showing the disruptive ability that made him Denver's third-round selection in the 2019 draft.

DaeSean Hamilton | WR: 6 Rec, 65 Yds, 1 TD

When Emmanuel Sanders was traded to San Francisco at the deadline, Hamilton was poised to step up and become a major factor for the Broncos in the passing game. But Hamilton has struggled to garner attention and catch passes over the ensuing eight games, leading many to believe that Denver needed to find a secondary threat at the wide receiver position.

In a career day, Hamilton pushed that notion down a bit by catching all six of his targets for 65 yards and the first touchdown of his season.

The Broncos definitely need to find a guy that can stretch the field and take the top off of the defense, but if Hamilton can continue to have days like today, they might actually have a long-term answer at the slot wide receiver position.

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Drew Lock | QB: 25-of-33, 192 Yds, 1 TD, 0 INT

Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock (3) passes the ball in the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Empower Field at Mile High.

The Broncos have been revitalized by the inclusion of Lock into the lineup, and despite his lackluster performance in the snow last week, they have found a way to not only sustain drives but end them with touchdowns rather than settling for field goals.

Lock had a 'bounce-back' kind of performance by completing 25-of-33 passes for 192 yards and a shovel-pass touchdown to Hamilton in the fourth quarter, including a 6-for-6 stretch in the first half.

We are still seeing some issues with throwing off of a bad platform at times, but Lock came out and distributed the ball at will to nine different receivers at all levels of the field. To see a rookie attack the middle of the defense like Lock has over the course of his four starts shows big-time potential for his career.

There are some throws where I'd like him to get some more air under the ball and let his receivers go and get it, but the zip he has on slants and crossing routes is tremendous. This kid is the real deal folks.

Phillip Lindsay | RB: 19 Car, 109 Yds, 1 TD

It seems like every time I watch Lindsay run the football, he does something that leaves me in awe. The shiftiness and explosion he possesses blow my mind on a rather frequent basis.

Lindsay had several explosive runs en route to another 100-yard rushing day against the Lions, including a 27-yard touchdown scamper that was incredibly well executed by his blockers upfront and served as the game's dagger.

But what gets me is Lindsay's penchant for taking runs that look like a loss and turning them into rather large gains. A couple of times on Sunday, Lindsay looked to be bottled up at the line of scrimmage, only to squeak his way through the narrowest of gaps to rip off six or seven yards.

Arguably his best run of the day came on a backside zone play where TE Noah Fant came across the formation, and Lindsay burst behind him for a first down, setting up Hamilton's touchdown reception.

Lindsay is now less than 50 yards shy of the 1,000-yard mark this season, which would give him back-to-back years over a grand on the ground. Pretty incredible for an undrafted rookie

Jake Rodgers | RT: Zero Sacks, Zero Penalties

Broncos fans have had to suffer through a turnstile effort at the right tackle position, watching Elijah Wilkinson struggle in his efforts while taking over for $51 million man Ja'Wuan James. But even so, when "Big Wilk" went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter against the Lions, fans were scrambling to figure out what kind of answer the Broncos coaching staff had to protect Lock in the passing game.

Enter Rodgers, who played an amazing game in relief of Wilkinson.

Rodgers held his own in the passing game, not allowing any pressure on his gun-slinging quarterback, and helped open up a big hole for Lindsay on his touchdown run.

What's best about his performance?

Rodgers didn't have a penalty, which is a great relief for fans who are tired of seeing laundry cover the Broncos backfield, especially in the wake of the two holding fouls Wilkinson drew in the first half. 

It'll be interesting to see how the Broncos go about their next week of preparation. Will Rodgers take over the starting role against the Raiders, or will Wilkinson be reinserted into the starting lineup given a clean bill of health?

Only time will tell. 

Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.