Things got spicy before the ball was even snapped in the Broncos’ divisional matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
NFL Network analyst Steve Smith Sr. stood on the sideline doing a pregame segment when Jerry Jeudy got in the shot, jumping back and forth while nodding his head to the music blasting throughout the stadium.
Jeudy appeared to be getting in the zone ahead of the Thursday Night Football matchup, but the Broncos wide receiver wanted to make a statement toward Smith, who’d recently called Jeudy out on his podcast — calling him “just a guy.”
The former Panthers wide receiver said on the Amazon Prime broadcast that he tried to apologize for his comments. But Jeudy wasn’t having it. And Smith didn’t take the disrespect lightly, staring straight into the camera afterward and calling Jeudy an average wide receiver that teams should avoid trading for ahead of the deadline.
Smith’s comments circled across social media almost immediately. And despite all the antics and pregame dancing to YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Jeudy finished with only three catches for 14 yards on five targets while the Broncos lost, 19-8.
So much for making Smith eat his words.
“I don’t remember that. It was a close game. We just gotta finish at the end of the games,” Jeudy said, dodging the question about his pregame conversation with Smith.
Whether or not Smith’s comments were too much for television, they rang true for one night, at least, in Kansas City.
Jeudy balled out near the end of last season, recording 523 receiving yards in the final six games. However, that production has not translated so far in 2023. He has 20 catches for 222 yards since missing Week 1 with a hamstring injury. His best performance was in the 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins, when he caught five passes for 81 yards, but most of his numbers came when Denver was already down big.
On Thursday night, Jeudy was nonexistent in the first half, as he had two catches for a yard on four targets. Courtland Sutton, who finished with 46 receiving yards and a touchdown, only had two catches for 14 yards in the first and second quarters. Rookie wideout Marvin Mims Jr. didn’t have a target the entire game.
“You just (have) to go back and watch film and evaluate everything,” Jeudy said.
Jeudy was billed as an elite route runner coming out of Alabama, but the 2020 first-round pick has yet to put it together on a weekly basis. Sutton has eclipsed 50 yards receiving in just two of six games this season, including a one-catch, 13-yard dud against the New York Jets last week.
Mims is the only receiver to top 100 yards in a game this season, but he is averaging only two receptions a game.
Simply put, none of the Broncos receivers have shown they can be that go-to guy.
Following Denver’s 31-28 victory over the Chicago Bears, Jeudy went on Twitter and took shots at former Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay, who tweeted “Where are the receivers!! All that money out there to be no-shows?”
“Glad you got to watch the game from the crib fam,” Jeudy responded after catching three passes for 52 yards in the come-from-behind win.
It’s clear Jeudy is not afraid to call out the haters. It’s also clear he hasn’t done much to prove them wrong.
As fireworks launched into the sky after Denver’s fifth loss of the season, Smith’s pregame remarks lingered after Denver’s disastrous offensive performance. Jeudy was “just a guy” on Thursday night. And for someone who was drafted No. 15 overall, that’s not enough.
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