The good, bad and ugly from the Broncos win on Thursday night
Oct 2, 2020, 6:52 AM
The Broncos got their first win of the 2020 season on Thursday night. It was a back-and-forth game, with both teams being winless entering the contest, but Denver came out on top by a score of 37-28.
The Broncos are now 1-3 with the schedule set to get even tougher. This is not the result the team envisioned building up to the regular season. However, you will take victories where you can get them if you’re the Broncos in a season that may not have many W’s when the results are in.
Broncos head coach Vic Fangio feels good after the win even though it was a little rough at the end.
“That was a tough game to finish. We had to go out there and stop them twice at the end of the game there on defense, once where they go for it on fourth down, which they obviously will, so it’s hard to get that at the end of a game because you have to go four-and-out. (Jets quarterback Sam Darnold is) a really good quarterback and a great runner, so I’m really proud of the defense there. And then just a really great individual run by Melvin (Gordon), who I think is a top back and is going to continue to get better and better for us. We love that we have him,” Fangio said.
The Broncos can breathe a sigh of relief, but not for that long. Up next, Denver gets 10 days before traveling to play the Patriots in Week 5. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from the Week 4 win.
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The Good
I just want to take a moment and reflect on the journey of Broncos pass-rusher Bradley Chubb. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft has had it rough over the last 12 months or so.
While he finished his rookie season with 12.0 sacks, in 2019 Chubb was injured after four games and only had 1.0 sack. This year in three games, Chubb had zero sacks – including a play against Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady that looked like a sack but was deemed to just be recorded as a tackle for no gain.
Chubb looked like his old self on Thursday night. Against the Jets, Chubb created pressure early and often on quarterback Sam Darnold. He finished the game with a whopping 2.5 sacks, the fourth multi-sack game of his career.
So, is Chubb “back” as himself? After the game, Fangio was asked that question.
“He’s been back. I don’t think he’s back to where he was prior to the injury, but we can’t forget that this guy is 11 months removed from his ACL surgery. If you talk to anybody who’s had that, it takes a little longer before you feel 100 percent. Bradley is fighting through that, some of it is mental. This guy is a warrior and he’s going to continue to get better and better,” Fangio said.
It’s the Jets, so we won’t get too carried away. However, it was nice to see Chubb look like the player we remember from 2018 – and the player the Broncos need him to be going forward.
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The Bad
Broncos fans took an up-and-down ride with quarterback Brett Rypien on Thursday night. At one point in the game, I was getting tweets from fans proclaiming the Broncos had found a diamond in the rough. Some fans even went on to say that Rypien was looking better than potential franchise quarterback Drew Lock.
Then, it all came crashing down. Rypien threw three interceptions against the Jets, but it was the interception returned for a touchdown late in the game that almost cost the Broncos a victory. Fangio knows this is what you get with an inexperienced quarterback.
“It was up and down, obviously. I thought there were some good things and we hit some big plays which is always important. But then throwing three interceptions, you’re not going to win many times in this league. But we found a way to win tonight in spite of that, which I think is a reflection of the fight we have in this team and with these players. The commitment they have to each other that we overcome, it was just an overall great performance by the team,” Fangio said.
Rypien did not look good against the Jets overall. I like his toughness as the Jets beat him up, and I like the fact that the stage of the NFL does not look too big for the young passer. Rypien was comfortable for much of the night, but there were a handful of throws I’m sure he’d want back. He’ll need to play against the Patriots in Week 5 because they will not be so forgiving when it comes to bad play.
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The Ugly
At the end of the game, things got ugly (uglier?) between the Jets and the Broncos. With time winding down and the Broncos victory secured, the team started to go into the “victory” formation to run out the clock. However, when it came down to the final seconds, the Broncos could not just kneel as time expired.
They chose to run a play where Rypien would launch the ball high enough and far enough for the clock to hit double zero. On that would-be final play, Rypien was hit – hard – by the Jets defense in what can only be perceived as a dirty play. A flag was thrown and the teams lined up again – only to lead to another big hit on Rypien.
As the teams ran off the field, Fangio did not go over to the middle of the field to shake the hand of Jets head coach Adam Gase. After the game, Fangio explained his reasoning for skipping the customary handshake.
“There was just a couple of personal fouls there at the end and our sideline was getting pissed off about it and I just wanted to avoid having any confrontation at the end of the game and having it get ugly there. So, I tried to get our guys to leave quickly just to avoid anything happening there. I thought it was the prudent thing to do,” Fangio said.
Fangio made the right call. He doesn’t need to shake Gase’s hand after that game, especially because tempers were flaring. Gase likely coached his final game for the Jets, and Fangio didn’t need to go over there to show sportsmanship that the Jets did not return in kind.
