Hopes were elevated in the Mile High City as the Denver Broncos, coming off of a dominant win against the Dallas Cowboys on the road, were favored against an aimless 3-6 Philadelphia Eagles squad.
Those hopes quickly faded and were replaced by groans and shouts of frustration as the Eagles imposed their will on the gridiron and shut down the Broncos time and time again, and by a score of 30-13, reminded fans that success in this league can often be fleeting.
With a bye week upcoming, this will be a great opportunity for Denver to focus on getting healthy and reflect on both the positive, as well as the negative in an attempt to improve and maintain a consistent level of play.
The road to the playoffs has begun and it will be a treacherous uphill climb.
Best Offensive performance- Cameron Fleming- 78.5 (9th of 74 offensive tackles)
The game against the Eagles on Sunday was tough overall and Fleming struggled early but by the end of the game had turned that around quite nicely.
Pass protection was so-so to begin but his run blocking was the biggest contributing facto to his stellar grade. Two of the best runs all day came off of the right side in Williams 20-yard gain in the third quarter and his touchdown run that was negated due to an Eric Saubert holding call.
Fleming’s run blocking grade of 89.0 ended up being 5th best in the entire NFL for offensive tackles week 10.
The four highest-graded Broncos against the Eagles were great in the trenches 💪
Here are the five highest-graded players in Week 10's game:
1. Cameron Fleming – 78.5
2. Dre'Mont Jones – 74.4
3. DeShawn Williams – 72.0
4. Lloyd Cushenberry – 71.4
5. Justin Simmons – 70.8 pic.twitter.com/00YMjR6gsK— PFF DEN Broncos (@PFF_Broncos) November 15, 2021
What this means for the Broncos moving forward is that there is a backup tackle on this team that can function serviceably within this offense in an emergency. With a Bobby Massie return on the horizon, unfortunately it doesn’t mean much more than that.
Worst Offensive Performance- Melvin Gordon- 44.9 (67th of 68 running backs)
On the ground, Melvin Gordon has been productive but if Broncos fans have one legitimate gripe with the veteran running back, it’s ball security. Even though he hasn’t had a plethora of fumbles in a Broncos uniform, it seems as though those costly errors rear their heads at the most inopportune times.
BIG @bigplay24slay DEFINE EL JUEGO con un retorno sensacional de TD de 83 Yds 🔥🔥🔥 después de una gran jugada de Davion Taylor forzando el fumble de Melvin Gordon 🙌#Eagles 27 #Broncos 13#FlyEaglesFly #NFL pic.twitter.com/vI8qOjporI
— Oscar Budejen (@OscarBudejen) November 15, 2021
With the emergence of rookie Javonte Williams and Gordon coming to the end of his current contract with the team, a fumble like the one he experienced against the Eagles that was subsequently returned for a touchdown is not helping his case for another opportunity with this team beyond 2021.
Even with these tragic errors, Gordon remains a valuable offensive option for Denver this season and will likely play a key role in their success if they are able to right the ship and put together some wins following the upcoming bye week.
Best Defensive Performance- Dre’Mont Jones- 74.6 (18th of 125 defensive tackles)
Dre’Mont Jones has been an extremely bright spot on this Denver Broncos defense and has easily been on of the most consistent and predictable players. On a weekly basis he can be seen wrecking offensive linemen and tight ends and has been able to generate a lot of pressure against opposing quarterbacks.
As a third-round draft pick just two years ago, Jones is shaping up to be a fantastic value selection with all-pro upside. If he continues to grow in strength and is able to expand his repertoire of moves, he could easily find his name mentioned with the elites of the position like Aaron Donald and Cameron Heyward.
Against Philadelphia, Jones brought pressure time and time again and was easily the most disruptive force on the entire defensive line. Expect more great play from him as the season rolls on.
Dre’Mont Jones got pressure and may have gotten his hand on the ball on 3rd down. Hurts fumble, but Kelce recovers, and the Eagles Punt.@KOAColorado #BroncosCountry
— Brandon Krisztal (@BKDenverSports) November 14, 2021
Worst Defensive Performance- Curtis Robinson- 25.7 (107th of 108 linebackers)
Though not technically deemed a starter, Curtis Robinson was thrust into the middle linebacker role early on Sunday when Baron Browning had to leave the game due to injury (back). Expectations potentially should have been tempered due to his undrafted rookie status, but there were significantly more negative plays than positive plays made by Robinson throughout the skirmish with the Eagles.
Robinson was forced into this position once earlier this season against the Cleveland Browns and running back D’Ernest Johnson. Sadly, the result looked much the same: dismal.
In the two games where Curtis Robinson played more than half the snaps at ILB, the Broncos have allowed 182 (CLE) and 214 (PHI) rushing yards on 73 carries (5.4 ypc). Robinson has not played a defensive snap in any other game. pic.twitter.com/Q1uUn8ehiJ
— Joe Mahoney (@ndjomo76) November 15, 2021
No matter who was toting the ball his way he just seemed physically incapable of stopping them, to the tune of 214 rushing yards between Hurts, Howard, Scott and a couple others. All of the blame can’t be laid at his feet solely, but the skill-level gap between Browning and Robinson appears to be a yawning bottomless chasm as of today.