Jerry Jeudy returns, but Broncos lose Courtland Sutton as WR woes continue

BALTIMORE — The Broncos’ injury woes at wide receiver just keep piling up.

Sure, Jerry Jeudy returned from an ankle injury to part-time duty Sunday against the Ravens — he finished with four catches for 65 yards, including a 40-yarder — but then Denver lost Courtland Sutton to a hamstring injury late in the second quarter.

“He was trying to work through it and just couldn’t come back out,” head coach Nathaniel Hackett said of the Broncos’ top receiver.

Sutton had just one target in the first half, then watched the second half from the sideline with a jacket draped over his pads and limped back to the locker room after the game.

“Obviously Courtland going down was a big deal because he’s such a special player for us,” quarterback Russell Wilson said.

Early in the third quarter, Wilson took a third-and-9 snap with Jalen Virgil, Brandon Johnson and Kendall Hinton as his three receivers. Put another way: Denver played parts of the second half without its top four receivers from the preseason in Sutton, Jeudy, KJ Hamler(put on injured reserve Saturday with a hamstring injury) and Tim Patrick.

“Our plan with Jerry was to work him back in,” Hackett said. “He was still not 100%, but he was willing to go for us and I thought he did some really, really good things for us. Battled through it.”

Jeudy said he wished he could have been on the field more in the second half, but also understands that his ankle currently isn’t healthy enough for that kind of workload.

“It’s very frustrating, because the competitive player I am, I always want to be out there on the field and give my best,” Jeudy said. “But, under the circumstances, I can’t do what I usually do.”

Simmons’ picks. Justin Simmons logged two interceptions against the Ravens, giving him three for the season. According to the Broncos, he’s the first player in franchise history to log multiple interceptions in each of his first seven seasons as a professional.

Not only that, but his second — a gift on an ill-conceived trick play attempt — tied him with Hall of Famer Steve Atwater for ninth in franchise history.

Killer penalties. On Baltimore’s 16-play, 91-yard game-winning drive, Denver’s defense committed two penalties worth 32 yards. First, an unnecessary roughness penalty on linebacker Alex Singleton on a second-and-8 completion to tight end Mark Andrews during which Singleton made contact with Andrews’ helmet as he tackled him. Then, a third-down pass-interference penalty against Patrick Surtain as he worked in coverage against Andrews.

That infraction moved Baltimore to the Denver 37-yard line with 1:56 to play.

What did Singleton think?

“I don’t think I’m allowed to talk about (the officials),” he said.

Inactives. The Broncos’ full list of inactives included four players who were ruled out before Sunday — nickel K’Waun Williams, tight end/fullback Andrew Beck, defensive lineman Jonathan Harris and linebacker Dakota Allen — plus three healthy scratches: cornerback Michael Ojemudia, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam and safety Anthony Harris.