At halftime, it looked like the Denver Broncos might have a chance to win. Up 10-7 on the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans, Russell Wilson was already over 100 yards passing with a touchdown. Too bad there was 30 minutes of football left to be played. Broncos Wire examines five studs and duds from Denver’s 17-10 loss on Sunday.
Stud: Jalen Virgil
Broncos wide receiver Jalen Virgil caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson in the first half, his first touchdown of the NFL season. Virgil’s emergence from being an undrafted free agent to a Denver receiver catching their only touchdown pass of the day has been remarkable. Hopefully, he will continue to be a huge part of this offense in the weeks to come.
Dud: Offensive line
Quarterback Russell Wilson was running for his life after center Graham Glasgow went down with an injury. Yes, the offensive line has been cobbled together with the cast of Lost. Each week, this motley crew generates false starts that kill drives, and there are often gaps wider than the Grand Canyon. Wilson was sacked six times, under duress countless other times.
Stud: Corliss Waitman
In the second half, besides the last drive of the game, Waitman was the only Bronco player to get the ball on the Titan’s half of the field. Waitman punted nine times, which is too many. Ideally, we would like to not see him at all, but he did his job well.
Dud: Second half offense
In six drives after halftime, the Broncos went punt (3 plays, 5 yards), punt (6 plays, 32 yards), punt (9 plays, 14 yards), punt (5 plays, 1 yard), punt (3 plays, 4 yards), interception (10 plays, 50 yards). 36 total plays for 54 yards. That is a horrific 1.5 yards per play. The anemic Denver offense is frustrating, especially when the defense is playing at such an elite level.
Stud: Defense
Let’s face it: despite historic futility by the Broncos offense, the defense continues to roll. Despite the loss of captain Bradley Chubb at the trade deadline, Denver kept Derrick Henry to 53 yards on the ground and Ryan Tannehill to 255 yards and a touchdown.
A single blown coverage led to a Titans touchdown that kept Tennessee firmly in the lead.
The Denver D kept yet another opponent under 20 points. That should be enough to win against any team. However, the Broncos continue to beat themselves. In the later stages of the fourth quarter, the defense recovered a Tennessee fumble, setting the offense up at the Denver 38. In just under a minute, the offense punted the ball back to the Titans. It is a crying shame that these efforts continue to be wasted by Wilson and Co.
