Around The NFL breaks down what you need to know from all of Sunday’s action in Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season. Catch up on each game’s biggest takeaways using the links below:
2022 · 2-6-0
Jeremy Bergman’s takeaways:
- Broncos exorcize demons on foreign soil. It could barely have started worse for Denver. Russell Wilson, coming off shoulder and hamstring injuries, nearly threw a pick on the game’s first play and then, following a three-and-out, did toss an interception on the Broncos’ very next drive, setting up a short Jaguars touchdown drive. Deja vu all over again for the stone ponies? Not quite. The Broncos bounced back from a lifeless start (three punts, INT on first four drives) to tally three touchdown drives for 75, 98 and 80 yards, one each in the final three quarters and get back in the win column. Wilson showed more confidence in the vertical passing game than he has all season, keying the Broncos’ game-winning drive with a 47-yard sideline bomb to KJ Hamler. A balanced running attack of Melvin Gordon and Latavius Murray (and Wilson, finally!) kept Denver’s long marches alive. Buoyed by its top-three bend-but-don’t-break defense, which logged two acrobatic picks of their own (one from Justin Simmons on the goal line, another from K’Waun Williams to seal the victory), the Broncos blocked Jacksonville from cashing in on its early momentum and capitalized on their opponent’s errors. Denver even turned the tables on its defining bugaboo (a league-worst 23.5 red-zone TD percentage) by scoring all three of their TDs from inside the 10. Broncos country, enjoy that long plane ride.
- Etienne’s coming-out party. When the Jaguars shipped leading rusher James Robinson to the Jets for pennies on the dollar earlier this week, the writing was on the wall: This is Travis Etienne‘s backfield. That reality was solidified on Sunday, as the second-year back enjoyed a career afternoon, flashing the acceleration, elusiveness and decisiveness on the perimeter that made him a top RB prospect out of college. Etienne broke his career-high in rushing (114, set just last week) with 156 yards and tallied over 20 carries (24) for the first time in the NFL. JaMycal Hasty spelled Etienne on fewer than a quarter of Jacksonville’s offensive plays. As the Jaguars’ aerial attack sputtered and Trevor Lawrence‘s passes fluttered high and away from his pass catchers, Duval frequently turned back to Etienne for a spark, and he delivered. Through 1.5 seasons, he’s the former Clemson Tigers first-rounder in Duval with better tape and potentially higher upside.
- Is Dulcich Denver’s skeleton key? The Broncos’ once-anemic passing game showed signs of life with Wilson keying in on two reliable receivers: Jerry Jeudy and … Greg Dulcich? The rookie tight end out of UCLA was sprung for a number of big gains in London. On Denver’s tide-turning 98-yard drive in the third quarter, Dulcich picked up three first downs with receptions of 18, 22 and 38 yards. In just his third game since returning from a hamstring injury, the field-stretcher was a mismatch nightmare for Jacksonville’s defenders, finding soft parts of the zone and beating Jags downfield with equal aplomb. Dulcich’s run-blocking also paved the way for Murray, Gordon and Wilson on the Broncos’ game-winning drive. His emergence in Denver’s offense could spell the end of Albert Okwuegbunam‘s time with the Broncos, but Mile High times for Wilson and Co.
Next Gen stat of the game: Russell Wilson’s 47-yard completion to KJ Hamler on Denver’s game-winning drive had a 19.0 percent completion probability, the second-most improbable completion for the Broncos this year.
NFL Research: Broncos RB Latavius Murray is the first player to score a rushing TD for two different teams in London in the same season.