The Denver Broncos have finally gotten one under the win column for the 2024 season and hopefully, it's one that they can build on. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were considered heavy favorites in this one after beating the Detroit Lions on the road last week but as ESPN's Chris Berman loves to say, "that's why they play the games".
The Broncos were terrific from the opening kick in this game, looking nothing like that team that walked off the field after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday.
The Broncos improve to 1-2 with the win, let's take a look at who stood out in this game for the right reasons and the wrong ones.
Denver Broncos Week 3 winners and losers
Winner: Bo Nix, QB
Statistically, this wasn't a great game for Bo Nix and he is still looking for his first career touchdown pass. But he looked much more comfortable running the offense this week and made good, clean decisions with the ball.
The team's new franchise QB has his first career victory and that puts him in the winner's circle as he helped guide the team to the win in Tampa.
Winner: Courtland Sutton, WR
Again, the numbers aren't huge (7 receptions, 68 yards) but it was what he brought in terms of a dependable pass-catcher that was big in this game. On the first play from scrimmage, Sutton hauled in a 22-yard reception and that play set the tone for the rest of the day.
Winner: Brandon Jones, Safety
The Broncos needed a big game from one of their safeties and have needed it for quite some time now. Brandon Jones, the player the team signed to replace Justin Simmons, gave that to them.
On Tampa Bay's second possession, Baker Mayfield had a pass picked off by Jones. He returned that 37 yards all the way to the Buccaneers' 9-yard line, which set up the Broncos' second touchdown of the day and gave them a 14-0 lead.
Jones later recovered a fumble deep in the Broncos' own territory as Tampa looked to tack on a meaningless score toward the end of the game. He returned that 34 yards, showing that the team was still putting in a full effort even with the outcome decided.
Winner: Dondrea Tillman, OLB
When the Broncos cut their roster down to 53 players following the preseason, I argued that Dondrea Tillman should be part of that roster following a big preseason. He was cut and then signed back to the practice squad.
The new guy, Dondrea Tillman. 2.0 sacks in NFL debut. #9sports pic.twitter.com/NpNiwR1yB3
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) September 22, 2024
Earlier this week, he was elevated from the practice squad when it looked like Baron Browning would miss the game with an injury. Tillman responded by making the most of the snaps he got in this game, coming up with two of the Broncos' seven total sacks of Mayfield.
He may be relegated back to the practice squad but he is a player the team should think about keeping on the active roster before another team signs him off the practice squad.
Winner: Wil Lutz, Kicker
Wil Lutz remains one of the better kickers in the league, knocking in all four of his field-goal attempts in this game. The Broncos would obviously like to score more touchdowns but it's nice to have a weapon like Lutz to make sure points are put on the board.
Winner: Vance Joseph, Defensive Coordinator
VJ is the guy many fans living in Broncos Country still love to hate, but give him credit. His defense has been quite strong this season and the schemes he dialed up against the Buccaneers in this game were a big reason why the Broncos came out on top.
The days of pointing the finger at Joseph for every little thing are slowly going away. He's getting it figured out and the results are clear.
Loser: Greg Dulcich, TE
This may be nitpicking but in a dominant performance like this one, you're going to have to nitpick if you want to find anything negative. With that said, what is it that Greg Dulcich does?
Last week, I talked about how patience could be running thin with the former third-round pick, but he did exactly nothing on the field in this game. Adam Trautman and even Nate Adkins had catches, but the offense just seems to get no boost out of having Dulcich on the field.
The Broncos need much more out of the tight end position.
The Broncos will be on the road again in Week 4 against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
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