Denver Broncos: Emmanuel Sanders roasted Malcolm Butler
Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders absolutely roasted New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler in Denver’s loss…
The Denver Broncos suffered through a bad loss at the hands of the New England Patriots, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t at least some good to come from the game overall. Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who was listed as questionable for the game with an ankle injury, was absolutely phenomenal.
Sanders’ ankle looked healthy, or he has found out a way to hide his pain extremely well.
The New England Patriots played man coverage pretty much the entire game, and Sanders was salivating from the opening quarter.
A big gain for @ESanders_10 on the slant!
— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2017
82 yards for the @Broncos WR already tonight. #BroncosCountry #NEvsDEN https://t.co/44SMJizhQj
The Broncos utilized Sanders from the slot and out wide, and it didn’t really matter where he lined up. He was going to feast in this game, one way or another. It also didn’t matter who was covering Sanders, but in the case of Malcolm Butler, Sanders put him on skates a couple of times.
What. A. Snag.@ESanders_10 with 105 yards on just four receptions so far. 👏 https://t.co/jJQlL92Yjv
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 13, 2017
It wasn't nearly as vicious as Julio Jones's jump ball, but Malcolm Butler got got (again) on national TV. pic.twitter.com/Ji5ZEffB1f
— The Ringer (@ringer) November 13, 2017
Even on a bad ankle, it was clear the Broncos wanted to feature Sanders in this game. They knew that they could exploit the Patriots’ man coverage, and to be honest, the offense did a good job of moving the ball up and down the field.
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The major problem in this game started off with one special teams error, which turned into a domino effect of issues on special teams. The Broncos allowed 24 points off of special teams gaffes.
Without those 24 points just given to New England, I think we’re talking about a much closer final score, even if the Broncos didn’t have what it took to win the game outright.
The gameplan offensively was solid, as the Broncos’ pass protection held up (for the most part) and the offense was having success both running and throwing the ball. Their issues offensively didn’t start until they reached the red zone, but they got there enough to have put plenty of points on the board to win the game, or at least force the Patriots to sweat a little bit.
Sanders did his part in dominating his one-on-one matchups, especially against Malcolm Butler in this one.