The Denver Broncos are moving forward after a tough loss against the Seattle Seahawks with a quick week of preparation to face the Houston Texans in their home opener on Sunday afternoon. The Texans are coming to town to face off against a rather motivated Broncos team that got in its own way for four quarters against the Seattle Seahawks.
It was an emotional loss on Monday night, but the Broncos did so many good things that if they can clean up the mistakes against Houston, this is a team they should absolutely roll over. As we learned in Week 1, however, you can’t underestimate anybody in the NFL or you’re going to fail and fall flat on your face in the process.
As cathartic as the win in Week 1 was for Seattle, a victory at home in Week 2 for the Denver Broncos would be equally relieving for a restless fan base that is eager to move forward and far away from all of the bad things we saw over the last six years. How can they get it done? They’re going to need some big performances from some of their most important players, as well as some players flying under the radar. Which five key players are we putting under the microscope heading into this game?
1. Jerry Jeudy, wide receiver
The Denver Broncos are going to need a big-time encore performance from Jerry Jeudy after his game against the Seahawks in which he racked up 102 yards on four receptions with a touchdown. It was the first 100-yard game and the first touchdown for Jeudy since the 2020 season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders, which actually took place in January 2021. Still, it was over 600 days of drought that ended abruptly in Week 1 for the former first-round pick.
Jeudy showed off his full arsenal of skills against the Seahawks. He’s got outstanding long speed, route running abilities, and YAC potential. The Broncos will need Jeudy to step up big again in the matchup against Houston where he should see a lot of veterans Steven Nelson and Desmond King.
The Texans won’t necessarily match specific corners up against specific receivers all game, so Jeudy could have the opportunity to go up against star rookie Derek Stingley Jr. as well, but if the Texans try to match up Stingley with Sutton, that leaves Jeudy with arguably the more favorable matchups throughout the course of this game. We could see a heavy dose of no. 10 this week and his impact on the game will be critical for getting the Broncos into the win column.
Denver Broncos impact players vs. Texans: Dre’Mont Jones, defensive lineman
There’s no question that the Denver Broncos are going to need everyone on that defensive front to make life hard on Davis Mills early and often in this game. Mills has shown some tremendous progression early on in his NFL career and he was pretty great in the Texans’ season-opener against the Colts last week. Mills was sacked three times against Indianapolis but didn’t throw any picks and had a QB rating of nearly 99.
He did lose a fumble and Houston might be susceptible to interior pressure with the crew they currently have listed there on the depth chart. This is a clear opportunity for Dre’Mont Jones to have a breakthrough game after playing over 50 snaps against the Seahawks and only coming away with one tackle.
Jones was disruptive all throughout training camp for the Broncos and has been expected to establish himself as one of the team’s top stars in 2022. We need to see him bully the Texans’ offensive line in this one. If Jones can create pressure from the interior, everyone on the Denver defense stands to benefit from it. He can help create pass rush opportunities for everyone else if he’s out there winning his matchups.
Denver Broncos impact players vs. Texans: Caden Sterns, safety
The Denver Broncos aren’t going to be able to “replace” Justin Simmons, who is now on injured reserve with a quad injury for the next four weeks (at least). What they can do, however, is see a young player like Caden Sterns take advantage of a great opportunity. Sterns showed last year as a rookie that he is a playmaker, and he was one of the most effective Denver Broncos players on a per-snap basis all of last season.
It felt like any time Sterns was out on the field, he was going to make a big play. He sacked Lamar Jackson, got an interception to close out a game against the Jets, and had a brilliant pick off of Dak Prescott in the Broncos’ dominating win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Now, instead of playing a fraction of defensive snaps, Sterns is going to have to play basically the entire game against Houston and for the foreseeable future out there. We know he’s a big-time athlete, we know he’s a playmaker. What we need to see now is whether or not Sterns is truly capable of playing a bigger role in this defense as opposed to just coming in for the dime package.
Again, there’s really no replacing Justin Simmons. Simmons is one of the best overall players on the team and someone whose responsibilities on the field go so far beyond just the box score or what anyone can see on TV. Sterns has some big shoes to fill and thankfully, we have reason to believe he’ll do a fine job filling them.
Denver Broncos impact players vs. Texans: Pat Surtain II, cornerback
In case everyone wasn’t aware before the Seahawks game, Pat Surtain II has arrived. He’s not just one of the best “young” cornerbacks in the NFL, he’s officially one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Surtain established himself quickly as one of the more dominant corners in the league early on last season, but now we’ve seen him consistently shutting down one side of the field. Although I’m not typically a fan of bringing up star players in posts like this (because they are such obvious candidates), I think we need to talk about Surtain and the matchup he’s got against Houston.
Specifically, the Broncos will likely give Texans receiver Brandin Cooks the Pat Surtain treatment, and that is going to be a very fun matchup to watch all game long. Cooks is one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL, a true model of consistency who was rewarded by the Texans this offseason with a big-time contract. Cooks is basically guaranteed 1,000 yards every season at this point, pretty much like clockwork.
He averages 67 yards per game for his NFL career and he’s capable of stretching the field vertically as well as winning in a variety of ways. The Broncos should expect Cooks to be heavily targeted simply because that’s the key to Houston’s offensive success. If Cooks is able to be effective, everything else seems to flow from that. He was targeted 12 times in Week 1, and even though the Texans played a full overtime period against the Colts, I think we can expect a lot of the same in Week 2.
Surtain will be tested in this matchup. Cooks is a much different playmaker compared to DK Metcalf but he’s equally capable of making huge plays and getting behind coverage. Surtain will have to be on top of his game yet again in this one.
Denver Broncos impact players vs. Texans: Andrew Beck, TE/FB
It’s Week 2 of the season and I’m all aboard the Andrew Beck hype train. No matter how many times read about it or hear about it, it’s still mind-boggling to me that Beck had zero carries or targets in the passing game in the entire Pat Shurmur era. It’s safe to say that Beck was under-utilized, even seeing him in just one game of the 2022 season.
Beck has tremendous versatility as a tight end, fullback, and player the Broncos can move around the formation. He’s got soft hands, he’s got good vision after the catch, and he can simply make plays. He caught two passes against the Seahawks but they were for good gains and his impact extended into the running game, where he was absolutely burying guys as a lead blocker.
Although the Broncos are really just getting things going with this new offense run by Nathaniel Hackett and Justin Outten, we saw some outstanding things from the running game in week one, particularly that zone blocking scheme which was certainly a welcomed sight. Beck was playing a throwback role but in today’s NFL, there’s plenty of room for a guy like this offensively.
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I’m not saying the Broncos need to go out and give Beck 10 targets in the passing game or anything, but maybe even giving him one or two more opportunities than we saw in the game against Seattle, I think he could be hugely impactful. I thought Albert Okwuegbunam did a good job with the opportunities he was given as well, but Beck was impressive and has earned a more prominent role going forward.