That was one of the uglier wins in recent memory for the Denver Broncos, with that said, there were still some notable plays. Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson win their first game as members of the Denver Broncos. It was brutal for the entirety of the game, but when the clock struck 0:00, it had the Denver Broncos with 16 and the Houston Texans with 9.
It came at a cost as Patrick Surtain II and Jerry Jeudy both would exit the game and not return. Jerry Jeudy has a ribs issue and Surtain II has a shoulder injury.
Russell Wilson was mediocre at best in this game, but Courtland Sutton stood out. Javonte Williams had another strong game for the Denver Broncos offense. Wilson was just 14/31 for 219 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
There were drops spread throughout the entire offense but that was not the lone reason for Russell Wilson’s struggles. This is actually something that I think can be worked out with time together, but maybe that real game time in the preseason would have helped progress this mesh.
Bradley Chubb stood out in Week One but Randy Gregory and Dre’Mont Jones stole the show in Week Two. Defensively the Denver Broncos played incredibly, they gave up just nine points and 234 total yards.
Top play no. 5: Courtland Sutton with a 34-yard reception
On 3rd & 5 from around midfield, Russell Wilson threw up a deep ball to Courtland Sutton along the left sideline. Covering Courtland Sutton was Derek Stingley Jr., the Houston Texans’ top draft pick.
Sutton was able to work on Stingley when given the opportunity. This was the first play coming out of the 2:00 warning, which was huge for the Denver Broncos to tie the game up before half. Brandon McManus did end up coming in and tying the game for the Broncos as they were again, unable to convert this into a touchdown.
Courtland Sutton has become money on the money downs and this was a prime example of that.
Top play no. 4: Courtland Sutton has another big gain, this time a 35-yard reception
Again, on a 3rd down, Courtland Sutton finds a way to get open. This time it was on a 3rd and 15 at the beginning of the 4th quarter down 9-6.
This seemed to be a breakdown in coverage as the cornerback or plat defender in a cover-2 stayed. flat. It is hard to see what was in front of the cornerback if there was a reason for him to pause his depth, but the safety was unable to close the gap.
This allowed Sutton to be wide open for Russell Wilson who fired a strike to Sutton for a Denver Broncos first down. Money down again for Courtland Sutton, this put the Denver Broncos in position for another score as it moved the ball inside of the Texans’ 35-yard line.
Top play no. 3: Dre’Mont Jones with a strip-sack
In my 25 or Under prediction, I did get the final score wrong but I was spot on with Dre’Mont Jones and Randy Gregory’s impact.
On 3rd & 10 with just under 5:00 to play in the second quarter, Dre’Mont Jones rushed Davis Mills basically unbothered and was able to get into the backfield and take an accuracte swipe at the football. This caused Mills to fumble the football, which was covered by the Houston Texans.
It was still a 6-3 ball game at this point, but the defense continued to make plays and keep the Houston Texans out of the endzone. This was the start of the conintued pressure. Having plays like this from Dre’Mont Jones helped stall drives from Davis Mills and the Houston Texans offense.
Denver Broncos Top play no. 2: Randy Gregory strips Davis Mills
After the Denver Broncos went up 16-9, the Houston Texans got the ball back with a chance to tie or even take the lead late in the 4th quarter. Right out of the gate, Davis Mills hit back-to-back strikes to move the Texans inside the Denver Broncos’ 40-yard line.
On 2nd & 10, Randy Gregory took the onus upon himself and had a strong and vicious pass rush that ended up in a strip sack. Houston recovered the fumble, yet again, but it pushed them in a very disadvantageous position of 3rd down.
https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1571639770060820480
Gregory came up with another big-time play in his second contest with the Denver Broncos. He forced another fumble on a hustle play last week. Gregory looks to play with a ton of attitude and hunger when he is on the field.
If Gregory did not make the big-time sack here, who knows how the game against the Houston Texans ends?
The top play of Week Two: Russell Wilson finds Eric Saubert for Denver’s only touchdown
Finally, with 12:45 seconds left in the game, the Denver Broncos cross the goal line. After another couple of failed goal-to-go situations, the Denver Broncos needed to score before getting into the red zone.
🙌🙌🙌
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 18, 2022
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/pWJdU4IUZc
Russell Wilson and Eric Saubert did just that when Wilson floated a ball to Saubert into the back of the endzone on a perfectly executed seam route. Saubert caught it over the outstretched hands of the linebacker who was just a tic behind.
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This 22-yard touchdown connection proved to be all the Denver Broncos offense needed to win this game as the defense would seal this thing up once it was put in their hands.