The Denver Broncos lost to the Baltimore Ravens 10-9 in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday afternoon. Here are five quick takeaways from the defeat.
1
Montrell Washington is looking like a wasted draft pick
Maybe it’s too harsh to call a fifth-round pick a waste of a draft pick, but Washington has really struggled to give Denver’s return game any kind of a lift. He returned three punts for 19 yards on Sunday, averaging just 6.3 yards per return and he ran back two kickoffs for 26 yards, averaging an abysmal 13 yards per kickoff return. The Broncos might not want to give up on Washington after just one season, but kick returner looks like a position of need going into 2023.
2
Corliss Waitman continues to struggle
Another special teams whiff for Denver’s front office. Waitman averaged 41.1 yards per punt on Sunday — which is an OK average — but his performance featured three points under 40 yards — not OK — including a 35-yarder. That’s just not going to cut it in the NFL. Another position of need for the Broncos this offseason.
3
Jonathon Cooper is stepping up
Cooper has stepped up following the Bradley Chubb trade. It’s alarming that a former seventh-round pick is beating out a second-round pick (Nik Bonitto) for snaps, but we’ll focus on the positive aspect. Cooper had a big game on Sunday with five tackles, one sack and a pressure that forced a Justin Simmons interception. The outside linebacker might not be a starter in 2023, but he’s made a strong case to stick around as a rotational pass rusher.
4
Greg Dulcich is a bright spot on offense
On an otherwise dismal day for Denver’s offense, Dulcich was a bright spot. The rookie tight end led the team in targets (eight), receptions (six) and receiving yards (85), marking the second-best game of his young career. Maybe he can help give the offense a bit of a spark to close out the season.
5
Klint Kubiak can't ignite the offense
The Broncos turned over playcalling to quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak a few weeks ago and it hasn’t provided much of a spark to the offense. Kubiak has seemingly figured out that Russell Wilson is at his best outside the pocket — there were more rollout and play-action passes on Sunday — but the offense still struggled to score. On a day when Baltimore’s backup QB led a game-winning touchdown drive, Denver’s $242 million quarterback failed to get his offense into the red zone. It’s certainly not all Kubiak’s fault — he’s just the latest to fail in his attempt to fix the mess.
