All Ja’Quan McMillian’s done the last several weeks for Denver’s defense is make big plays.
The second-year man has turned the nickel spot from a weakness into a strength for the Broncos and he made a splash again on Minnesota’s first drive of the night Sunday.
McMillian plucked a loose ball out of the air after safety Kareem Jackson forced a fumble on a Josh Dobbs run on the Vikings’ third play of the night.
It’s the second straight game in which McMillian’s recovered a fumble on the opponents’ first series. He stripped Buffalo running back James Cook on the first play last Monday and recovered it himself.
The handy work Sunday night made him the first Denver player since Von Miller in 2015 to recover fumbles in back-to-back games. That’s to go along with an interception and five tackles for loss in the past five games.
Skinner up. Denver rookie safety JL Skinner made the gameday roster for the first time in his career Sunday night against the Vikings.
Skinner, a sixth-round pick out of Boise State, had been a gameday inactive the entire season but was in uniform against Minnesota with safety P.J. Locke (ankle) out.
Skinner and second-year man Delarrin Turner-Yell represented the depth options for Denver behind starters Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson. Turner-Yell had been the next man up earlier in the season and started two games when Denver had injury issues, but has struggled mightily during his defensive snaps.
Turner-Yell, though, has been a quality special teams player so far this season.
Perhaps the surprise of Denver’s game day inactives was outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins, who had carved out a role as the Broncos’ fourth edge player. He was joined on the inactive list by inside linebacker Ben Niemann, defensive lineman Elijah Garcia and rookies C Alex Forsyth and OLB Thomas Incoom.
Rookie gets shot. First-year cornerback Riley Moss took over as the dime defensive back for the first time this season, taking the spot of cornerback Damarri Mathis, who’d already fell out of the starting lineup.
The Broncos traded up to select Moss in the third round of last spring’s draft, and this signified his first significant action on defense.
Reunion. Sunday night’s game represented a reunion on several fronts. Former Broncos guard and Wiggins native Dalton Risner returned to Empower Field as Minnesota’s starting left guard. He’s coached by another former Bronco, offensive line coach Chris Kuper. Denver, meanwhile, has several front office members who used to work for the Vikings, including general manager George Paton and special advisor to the general manager Kelly Kleine Van Calligan.
Salute to service. As part of the Broncos’ “Salute to Service” weekend, each Denver offensive starter announced before the game ran out of the tunnel with a member of the armed services and an American flag. Right guard Quinn Meinerz stopped partway out and delivered a Mile High Salute.
Busy weekend. A trio of the Broncos ownership group took in the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas late Saturday night as the sport returned to the Sin City.
Limited shareholder Lewis Hamilton, of course, is a seven-time world champion and finished seventh in the race.
CEO Greg Penner and owner Carrie Walton-Penner were also at the race supporting Hamilton.
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