Stud No. 3 – Demaryius Thomas
For the past three weeks Demaryius Thomas has been lambasted by fans and the media, and perhaps rightfully so, for his high number of dropped passes.
After receiving a massive, five-year, $70-million contract this offseason, the expectations were incredibly high. But a struggling quarterback, then a change to an inexperienced quarterback shook his confidence (not to mention the personal life challenges he’s facing with the recent release of his mother from jail). He’s again over the 1,000-yard plateau, but his touchdown numbers are down and his clutch gene seems to have withered.
But on Monday night Thomas came up huge, with seven catches for 59 yards. He didn’t find the end zone, and finished third on the team in total yards. But Thomas had three catches that were crucial to Denver putting points on the board late in the game.
His fourth-quarter catch and run went for 13 yards and had the Bengals on their heels, setting up C.J. Anderson‘s 39-yard go-ahead touchdown run. In overtime, he made a miraculous one-handed catch to convert a third down and get Brandon McManus out of “tightened sphincter” field goal range. He followed that two plays later with a 12-yard catch and run that set the stage for the final go-ahead field goal.
Thomas didn’t put up the biggest numbers, but he was one of the biggest producers when it mattered.
