The Denver Broncos defeated the Cleveland Browns on a Sunday afternoon in a must-win game. Who played well, and who needs to up their game?
How are we feeling, Broncos Country? It seems like it’s almost been too long since the Denver Broncos have won a game, but it’s been even longer since the Broncos have won a game thanks to their offense.
The Broncos defeated the Cleveland Browns at home on Sunday 24-19, putting the Broncos at 3-6 and the Browns at 2-6. This also puts the Broncos back in Wild Card contention, although they will have a lot of catching up to do if they wish to make up any ground in the playoff race.
However, it is pretty premature to be talking playoffs. Instead, let’s discuss whose stock is up, and whose went down in Sunday’s win. Let’s celebrate, Broncos Country; the stock up section is the largest it has been all season.
Stock Up
Noah Fant, TE
Rookie tight end Noah Fant has come under much fire throughout the season, especially on social media platforms.
His performance Sunday should quiet down much of the negativity.
Fant caught a short pass from Brandon Allen, and was off to the races for a 75-yard score, beating a few defenders on the way as well.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1191115937572741120
Fant finally got the opportunity to showcase his talents, and even looked a little like future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski in the process. It is much too early to call him Baby Gronk, but Fant had a great day and has had a pretty good season behind the scenes, amid a few easy drops and the typical rookie mistakes.
In fact, with today’s performance, Fant became the most productive TE for the Denver Broncos since Owen Daniels in 2015 (per Taylor Kothe of Mile High Report).
The Broncos have desperately searched for consistent tight end play, especially with Jake Butt and Jeff Heuerman struggling to stay healthy. Hopefully, they have found it in Fant.