Here are the heroes and zeros from the Broncos’ 42-17 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday night at Ford Field.
Heroes
D.J. Jones: Despite a poor performance from Denver’s defense, Jones stood out. In the first quarter, Jones sacked quarterback Jared Goff on third down, forcing Detroit to punt after Russell Wilson’s fumble helped put the Lions in solid field position. Jones made another big play in the second quarter when he stopped Lions running back David Montgomery for a loss of six yards.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey: The Broncos hadn’t scored on the first drive of the second half all season. Humphrey had something to say about that. With 10:41 to go in the third quarter, Wilson lofted a 3-yard pass into the end zone, where Humphrey made a contested touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-7 to start the second half.
Jerry Jeudy: Denver’s wide receiver had one of his best games of the season. Jeudy’s night started with a 40-yard reception over the middle in the first quarter. The Broncos faced a third-and-10 with 3:32 to go in the third when Wilson found Jeudy for a 19-yard reception. In the fourth, he caught a 15-yard pass on Denver’s eight-play, 62-yard scoring drive. Jeudy finished the game with three catches for 74 receiving yards — his second-most in a game this season.
Zeros
Josey Jewell: The Broncos’ inside linebacker was a victim of Hawkeye-on-Hawkeye crime in the first quarter. Lions rookie tight end and former Iowa standout Sam LaPorta caught a pass from Goff before he shook Jewell out of his cleats, then scored on a 19-yard touchdown reception. Not Jewell’s best moment this season.
Fabian Moreau: Denver’s starting cornerback allowed six catches for 74 yards on seven targets. On the Lions’ six-play, 75-yard scoring drive, wide receiver Jameson Williams made an impressive two-handed catch over Moreau. Two plays later, Moreau was called for defensive pass interference that helped set up running back Jahmyr Gibbs’ 12-yard rushing touchdown that extended Detroit’s lead to 35-10.
Denver’s offensive line: The Lions brought the pressure and Denver’s offensive line couldn’t do anything to stop it. Wilson was pressured 18 times and sacked twice, according to Next Gen Stats. As the Lions were putting points on the board, Denver couldn’t keep up because Wilson rarely had time in the pocket to make plays.
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