1. Enough with the #@&^ injuries!
Jerry Jeudy. Billy Turner. Graham Glasgow. An offensive line thatap down to third-teamers at both tackle spots and a rookie third-teamer at center. If the football gods don’t hate Nathaniel Hackett, then they sure as heck hate the Broncos’ training staff right now. Going into Week 10, per Spotrac.com, Denver led the NFL in current cap dollars on injured reserve ($52.87 million) and percentage of the current cap on the I.R. (25.49%). You know who else might be questionable to return after Week 10? Broncos fans.
2. Not missing Chubb?
Midway through the third quarter, the Broncos had picked up three combined tackles, two TFLs and a sack from the outside linebacker combo of rookie Nik Bonitto and newcomer Jacob Martin, the former Cherokee Trail standout who was picked up at the trade deadline. With the exception of the last Titans’ drive of the first half, GM George Paton was right: Bradley Chubb wasn’t missed that often.
3. False (start) hope
No, the offensive line injuries don’t help. Nor did that slippery track. But with six minutes left in the game, the Broncos had been flagged for four false-start penalties. As of early Sunday afternoon, that put Denver back into the NFL lead in that statistical category, with 19 false starts through nine games. If you’re curious, that’s got them on a pace for 36 false starts. Per NFLPenalties.com, that would be the most over an NFL season since 2011, when the Seattle Seahawks, pre-Russell Wilson, were flagged for 38 false starts over 16 games.
4. Stonehouse does CSU proud
Rams fans haven’t had a lot to brag about for … umm … years on the football front, but punter Ryan Stonehouse’s steady, strong leg was always a point of FoCo pride. While he largely flew under the radar as a collegian at CSU, Sunday’s deep shots proved why, as an NFL rookie, Stonehouse is quickly becoming a cult hero in Music City.
