DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 12: Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the Denver Broncos kneels during the tribute to the late former Denver Broncos player Demaryius Thomas before the game between the Detroit Lions and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on December 12, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
It was an emotional day at Empower Field as there were many tributes to Broncos All-Time Great WR Demaryius Thomas. Denver needed to beat the Lions to remain in the playoff race and they did it convincingly, 38-10. Below is a recap of the game:
The Lions won the toss and deferred.
For the first snap of the game, the Broncos offense came out with only 10 players, leaving the X receiver spot empty to honor Demaryius Thomas, who passed away Thursday night due to medical issues. The Detroit Lions declined the penalty following a standing ovation from the Empower Field at Mile High crowd.
The Broncos offense has struggled early in games this season and points on opening drives have been extremely difficult to come by. Was not the case today, as Teddy Bridgewater and the Broncos offense expertly moved down the field on an 11-play, 75 yard drive capped off by 5-yard run by Javonte Williams for a touchdown, giving Denver a 7-0 lead.
Detroit's first drive was a quick 3-and-out that was culminated by a Dre'Mont Jones sack.
For the Broncos second drive, they kept their foot on the gas. Aided by some tough running from Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon, along with a 32-yard catch down the right sideline by Noah Fant, Denver punched in a 1-yard rushing TD from Gordon to extend their lead 14-0. It was a 12-play, 74 yard drive.
Now in a two touchdown hole, the Lions took the field for their 2nd drive. This time Detroit moved the ball quickly down the field, including a 35 yard run by Craig Reynolds, and capped off the drive with a 7-yard TD pass to Kalif Raymond who went in from the flat untouched. The Broncos still lead 14-7. It was a 7-play, 75 yard drive.
The Broncos, now with only a 1-score lead, took the field for their 3rd offensive drive but unfortunately couldn't muster much more than 2 yards as they went 3-and-out.
The Lions began their 3rd offensive drive from their own 25 yard line and, once again, moved down the field efficiently against the Broncos defense but this time the Detroit offense was stopped at the Denver 18 yard line after Shelby Harris batted Jared Goff's 3rd down pass. Patterson converts a 36-yard FG to pull the Lions within 4 as they now trailed 14-10.
The Broncos 4th drive had similar results as their 3rd one as they were forced to punt after taking minimal time off of the clock. A quick first down was followed by a sack, putting the Broncos behind the chains. Sam Martin came on to punt after just 5 plays and Detroit would start their 4th drive at their own 20 yard line with a little over 3 minutes until halftime.
This time, the Broncos defense forces a Detroit punt after 6 plays and the offense had a chance to put points on the board with 1:04 and all three timeouts. After several short completions, Teddy Bridgewater moved the offense down the field and put Brandon McManus in postion to convert a 52-yard FG as time expired, giving the Broncos a 17-10 lead at halftime.
The Lions opened the 2nd half with the ball but a fumble by Godwin Igwebuike gave the Broncos a chance to add points to their lead and they did just that. After 5 plays, Javonte Williams took a checkdown from Teddy Bridgewater 10 yards into the end zone, giving Denver a 24-10 lead.
Detroit started their next drive in a hole after a Dre'Mont Jones sack, followed by a Jones tackle for loss. A completion to Reynolds for 20 yards gave the Lions a chance to go for it on 4th and 2. Dre'Mont Jones came up with ANOTHER play to end the drive.
The Broncos offense took over at the Lions 33 yard line and march down the field to cap off another touchdown drive by a 14 yard run by Melvin Gordon to give Denver a 31-10 lead.
Now in a three-score deficit, the Lions took the field once again to try and stop the Broncos 17-0 scoring run. After a 16-play drive that lasted 8:21, Kareem Jackson was able to break up a pass at the goal line on 4th down to stall the Detroit offensive drive. With about 13 minutes remaining in the game, the Broncos offense would take over with a 21 point lead.
The Broncos offense goes 3-and-out and, after a Sam Martin 42-yard punt, the Lions started their next drive from their own 49 yard line with 11:28 remaining in the game.
With possibly the interception of the season for the Broncos, Justin Simmons dives in front of Wright to stop the Lions drive at the Denver 12 yard line.
With just under 9 minutes remaining in the game, the Broncos offense takes over deep in their own territory. In one of their most impressive drives of the season, Denver took over 7 minutes off of the clock and, after a 14 play drive, capped it with a 4-yard Touchdown pass to Albert O giving the Broncos a 38-10 lead.
After a quick drive from the Lions, the Broncos officially closed things out and beat the Detroit Lions 38-10 to improve to 7-6 on the season.
The Broncos will host the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday, December 19th at Empower Field at Mile High and coverage on KOA begins at 8am.
Postgame interviews below with Voice of the Broncos Dave Logan and Vic Fangio, Teddy Bridgewater and Susie Wargin with Justin Simmons.
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