3 Winners, 5 Losers in Broncos' 48-19 Drubbing at the Hands of Bills

Did any individual player produce a 'winner's' performance in the Broncos' 48-19 loss to the Bills?

The Denver Broncos were embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, falling at home 48-19. It was a game for Denver governed exclusively by Murphy's Law. 

What could go wrong — especially in the second half — did go wrong. The Bills produced 534 total yards, the most relinquished by the Broncos in the Vic Fangio era. 

Who were the Broncos' biggest winners and losers in Week 15? Let's get to it. 

Winner: Noah Fant | TE

Fant produced a career-high eight receptions (on 11 targets) for 68 yards and a touchdown. In what was his third score of the year (and first since Week 2 *welp!*), Fant made a phenomenal catch in the end zone. After being escorted off the field last week due to the symptoms of a 24-hour bug, it was good seeing Fant back on the field. He was one of the few difference-makers for Denver on Saturday. 

Winner: Melvin Gordon | RB

Gordon ran hard once again, carrying the rock 11 times for 61 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught all four of his targets, totaling 20 additional yards through the air. With 5,054 career rushing yards, Gordon became just the 12th active NFL player to reach that mark. 

Winner: Sam Martin | P

Martin punted six times for 291 yards (48.5 avg.), netting 47.3 yards per punt. His shining moments came when he placed two punts at the Bills’ 5-yard line. When a punter makes the winners' column, you know it was a bad day at the office for the team. 

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Loser: Taylor Russolino | K

Russolino had the chance to audition for the 31 other teams in the league, and he did just that, but his performance is unlikely to earn him any calls. He missed a 54-yard attempt at the end of Denver's first drive and missed two extra points. Adding insult to injury, despite the thin air of Mile High, his kickoff to open the third quarter landed short of the goal-line, allowing Buffalo's dangerous returner Andre Roberts the chance to take the ball out and he did just that, rumbling 53 yards and set Josh Allen up with a short field. The only good thing Russolino did, besides making 1-of-3 extra points, was kick an onsides attempt about as well as you can under current NFL rules. Buffalo still recovered but Russolino gave his guys a chance.  

Loser: De'Vante Bausby | CB

Bausby was educated by Stefon Diggs, relinquishing multiple big plays in coverage. Bausby was also penalized. The team's No. 5 or 6 cornerback on the depth chart, Bausby has been tasked with being the No. 1 and on Saturday, he proved that he doesn't have what it takes to hang with the NFL's elite wideouts. Diggs finished with 11 receptions (on 13 targets) for 148 yards. 

Loser: Fangio's Defense

The Broncos defense was shamed on Saturday. Allen scored touchdowns on three of Buffalo's four first-half possessions and ended up getting points on seven of his nine drives. You read that right. The Bills scored on all but two possessions, punting once and turning it over on downs after a failed 4th-&-1. Fangio's defense seemed to give up in the second half. Punctuating Denver's impotent defensive showing was Devin Singletary's inexplicable 51-yard touchdown with 1:40 to go in the game after Gordon's second touchdown that came in garbage time. 

Loser: Drew Lock | QB

Lock's uneven performance wasn't the reason the Broncos were trounced but it played a significant part. Despite leading two first-half touchdown drives, Lock's third-quarter fumble took all the air out of the Broncos, in all three phases, leading to the watershed domination that ensued. After his powerhouse performance in Carolina, Lock turned in a D+ day against an elite opponent, finishing 20-of-32 (62.5%) for 132 measly yards and a touchdown. His 81.8 QB rating implies a better performance than reality. One step forward, two steps back — the story of Lock's second year. 

Loser: Jerry Jeudy | WR

Jeudy caught one pass on five targets for 19 yards. On one hand, his singular reception helped set up Fant's touchdown to close the first half, but on the other, Jeudy's alligator-arm display on one third-down pass did not reflect well on the rookie first-rounder. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.