Demaryius Thomas was dreading Monday morning. The game tape would come on and show the worst game of his career. He could see his dropped passes in his mind and the role that played in what could have been a loss.
Instead, he made his one play, a 36-yard reception down the right sideline, on the Broncos’ go-ahead fourth quarter touchdown drive.
The victory healed some of the wounds, but Thomas still was disappointed with his play.
“I feel like I let my teammates down besides that one big play,” Thomas said. “There were passes that I dropped that I should have caught. If you kind of get to that point where you’re always thinking about it, it kind of makes it worse.”
Thomas finished the game with one catch on a team-high 13 targets. Pro Football Focus attributed him with three dropped passes, but there were a couple more that Thomas usually catches.
“Nobody felt worse than him the other night,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. “You struggle sometimes, and your teammates have to pick up the slack for you, and his did.”
Receiver Emmanuel Sanders stepped up with six catches for 113 yards, helping carry the load.
The snowball effect had a double meaning. Not only was Thomas impacted by the piling up of dropped passes and poor play, but the Broncos’ first snow game of the season also had a significant impact.
“Some of the elements that was going on in the game,” Thomas said. “I was worried about not falling and slipping. (I was) worried about catching the ball when it snows. That’s the main thing, just getting it out of my head. I’m sure I can play better.”
Thomas has shown a tendency to bounce back from poor showings. He dropped two crucial passes in a Broncos’ victory at Cleveland earlier this season, but he followed it up with eight catches and 168 receiving yards in the Broncos’ next game against Green Bay.
Cameron Wolfe: 303-954-1891, cwolfe@denverpost.com or @CameronWolfe
