Was this a “get right” game for the Broncos? It sure seemed like it.
We saw vintage Bo Nix, the run game flashed, big plays by Waddle, Mims, and Sutton, and the defense held tough for most of the game. After a long week of discourse over Bo Nix and the Broncos offense, the media-driven narrative is dead for at least this week.
The Broncos are now 5-2 and have won 18 of their last 21 games. Good times in Mile High!
A two-score victory? Lots of winners being handed out today, but there are still a few
losers coming out of this game. So, with all that said, here are your winners and losers from the Broncos’ 30-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
WINNER – QB Bo Nix
After a week of bullshit from all corners of the media, Nix responded well against the Cardinals.
He finished 15 of 29 for 222 yards, 1 passing touchdown, 74 rushing yards, and another touchdown. He had two big plays: a 62-yard rushing touchdown as well as a 52-yard passing touchdown to running back RJ Harvey on a screen play.
Nix looked confident, made some big throws, and led the offense to 30 points on the road.
Was it a perfect game? No. He had some misthrows; the offense had some drops, and the offense started a little slow. However, he bounced back and played well for most of the game and again led the Broncos to 30 points.
After a week where his play was called “disrespectful” and Payton was questioned if Nix should be benched, Nix responded and silenced the haters.
It was a ridiculous media-driven narrative anyways.
WINNER – RB Jonah Coleman and RB RJ Harvey
Jonah Coleman has arrived.
After the game, head coach Sean Payton told reporters that he has to get “Coleman more touches”moving forward, and he has certainly earned them. He led the Broncos ball carriers in rushing with 9 carries for 54 yards.
Coleman showed the vision, burst, acceleration, and power needed to be a starter in the NFL and had the best overall performance of any back this season by the Broncos. He should be their starter moving forward,
RJ Harvey also gets a winner for me due to his play in the receiving game. He took a well-timed screen play vs. the blitz untouched for a 50+ yard touchdown.
Coleman should be the Broncos’ starting running back. He passes the eye test and results speak for themselves. Also, Harvey has been the Broncos’ best playmaker this season and once again had a big explosive play for a touchdown. They need to lean on this one-two punch moving forward.
LOSER – RB JK Dobbins
Dobbins played okay today and scored a touchdown for the third straight game. However, the reality is, he should not be the Broncos’ starting running back. He currently has a career-low in YPC and averaged just 3.8 on the ground today while Coleman had 6.0.
Add in Payton saying Coleman needs to get more touches, and you have Dobbins stock trending in the wrong direction.
With that said, Dobbins looked his best today and had a nice run wiped out by one of the many flags in this game. However, the eye test tells you everything. He looks slow and lacks that extra gear to get away from defenders, while Coleman has that speed, burst, vision, and power.
It’s time to make the switch.
WINNER – WR/KR Marvin Mims Jr.
A great time for Marvin Mims to have the best game of his season. He had a couple of nice returns and had 53 yards in the passing game. Most of that came on a 47-yard reception, which led to a touchdown by the Broncos.
With Waddle leaving the game with an injury and Bryant sidelined, the Broncos need more of these explosive plays by Mims moving forward.
LOSER – Penalties
The Broncos had 11 penalties for 114 yards today, which is not good. This has been an issue throughout the Sean Payton era; however, the officials were awful in this game. They had bad and inconsistent calls on both sides and had an impact on this game.
One of their worst calls was on, you guessed it, cornerback Riley Moss, who was flagged for a field-flipping defensive pass interference on a play where… no DPI happened. For whatever reason, this keeps happening with Moss.
After the game, Payton was asked about the officials in this game, and he had an interesting comment on their performance. He told reporters,“I am never going to criticize the officials. At one point I said, ‘You are doing your best to turn the TV audience off. You are on a roll.'”
They were genuinely bad and had missed calls on both teams, but thankfully, it did not end up costing the Broncos the game.
WINNER – LB Alex Singleton
Singleton has been playing good football lately. Sure, he still has his struggles, but he was all over the field today and had 19 total tackles, including a late-game sack of Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett, which took them off the 1-yard line.
Tackle stats don’t matter too much, but Singleton has played well in recent weeks, and most importantly, hasn’t been missing many tackles. He does have his issues in coverage from time to time, but overall, I think he has been playing solid football for the Broncos
WINNER – Nik Bonitto
The stat line shows 1 tackle and 0 sacks, but his impact was felt throughout the game. Bonitto had a career-high 13 pressures vs. the Cardinals and was close to multiple sacks. Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett was just annoyingly good at getting the ball out.
The Broncos did have 3 total sacks, but they should have had more if we’re being honest. Gotta credit Brissett for getting the ball away and avoiding the sack, but the Broncos’ pass rush was getting home throughout the game.
LOSER – Whoever was covering Trey McBride
10 receptions for 111 yards and 1 touchdown.
McBride saw 13 total targets, and the Broncos did not have an answer for him no matter who was in coverage. He’s the best tight end in the NFL for a reason, but I had hoped the Broncos would do better against him. Still, the Broncos held the Cardinals to 16 points and limited the damage, but Vance Joseph’s struggles vs. elite tight ends continue.
Other notable Winners and Losers
- WINNER – FB Adam Prentice: Blocked punt!
- LOSER – CB Ja’Quan McMillian: He should of had 3 INTs today but developed short-term Hufanga-itis and dropped all three gimme INTs (We still love J-Mac and this is mostly a joke, don’t get too upset).
- WINNER – Broncos red zone defense: They held the Cardinals to just 1 touchdown in 5 red zone attempts. They bent but did not break.
- WINNER – Que Robinson: He’s a stud.
- LOSER – Injuries: Waddle (chest) and Allen (Hamstring) left the game late with injuries and did not return. Waddle’s looked the worse of the two, but we will have to wait for updates on both.
- LOSER – The refs: They sucked.
- LOSER – Brandon Jones: He has been solid for the Broncos but had multiple missed tackles today.
- WINNER – The George Paton guys: Que Robinson, Kris Abrams-Draine, Sai’vion Jones, and Uwazurike, all Paton Day 2 and 3 draft picks, made impact plays today. Que is a stud; KAD had a big tackle on 4th down where he read the play perfectly; Jones had a sack, and Enyi was making plays in the run game.
