Broncos Biggest Studs & Duds in 16-9 Loss to Jets

The Denver Broncos Week 7 post-mortem begins.

It's the same story, just a different week, as the Denver Broncos again fielded arguably the best defense in the NFL, with an offense that might be the worst in the league. Despite having a backup quarterback, the Broncos looked almost identical to the previous six games offensively, and the coaching decisions were, again, highly questionable as the New York Jets emerged victorious on Sunday, 16-9. 

Who were Denver's biggest studs and the duds in yet another embarrassing loss?

Stud: Dre'Mont Jones | DL

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Jones looked explosive and made his impact felt, notching two sacks and foreshadowing a tough decision ahead for Broncos' GM George Paton. Jones is a free agent after this year. 

The fourth-year D-lineman is on pace to shatter his season career-high 6.5 sacks, as Jones now has 4.5 sacks this season with just under half the schedule played.

Dud: Brett Rypien | QB

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It's hard to be too critical of a backup quarterback, but one thing is certain following this loss: Rypien is not a backup Denver can rely on to come into games and make enough plays to keep the team floating. 

It was a game to forget for the backup. Rypien went 24-of-46 for 225 yards and zero touchdowns with an interception, and a QB rating of 56.9. Rypien's day was replete with horrible throws, terrible decisions, and misreads in coverage.

Stud: Greg Dulcich | TE

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It was clear after last week's performance that the Broncos may have found a steal in the third-round rookie tight end, and Dulcich added more wood to the fire on Sunday with six catches (on nine targets) for 51 yards. It was an extremely impressive performance for a player in just his second game — and with a backup quarterback. 

Dulcich was one of the lone bright spots on offense for the second straight week.

Dud: Nathaniel Hackett | HC

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The head coach is becoming a weekly mention on the studs and duds list as it was apparent that some of Hackett's decisions, be it playcalling or crucial calls, like when to kick or punt and when to go for it, are just not up to standard. Perhaps most glaring of all was Hackett's call on a 4th-&-3, trailing by seven, where Rypien's first read was a deep end-zone ball to Courtland Sutton that was broken up. 

It seems like with the lack of fan interest in attending home games, Hackett's job may officially be hot.

Stud: Jerry Jeudy | WR

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Jeudy was the only Broncos' wide receiver that helped Rypien out in the passing game. Jeudy produced several big plays and moved the chains on third down. 

He finished with seven catches (on 11 targets) for 96 yards. Jeudy had 73 more yards than Sutton, who had the second-most yards for all wide receivers (three catches for 23 yards). After a week of speculation surrounding the future of the former first-round pick, Jeudy may have increased his stock at the perfect time.

Dud: Brandon McManus | K

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This one is pretty simple. You can't have your kicker miss an extra point attempt and a crucial field, especially when the kicker opposite him was perfect on the day in the same windy conditions. 

It's been an interesting season for the longest-tenured Bronco. If Brandon McManus doesn't start to do a little bit more, there could be an interesting conversation about this position moving forward.

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