Three weeks along and the Denver Broncos are only one of five teams who remain undefeated in the NFL. This was the start that Denver expected coming into the regular season with what was assumed to be, and now confirmed, low-level opponents.
The New York Jets are the NFL equivalent of the perfect fixer-upper in real estate: great location, a solid foundation (Zach Wilson, Mekhi Becton, Robert Salah), and won’t cost an arm and a leg. This is not a team that is going to be competitive this year, but instead hopes to pay dividends in five years.
Good teams win, great teams cover the spread and Denver has done both. The real challenges lie ahead but you can only fight the battles that are put in front of you.
Here are the winners and losers of week 3 according to Pro Football Focus.
Best Offensive Performance- Tim Patrick- 86.1 (5th of 128 Wide Receivers)
Alright, we have been silent for far too long. Tim Patrick is a WR2 in the NFL, period.
The impact of a player like Patrick is not always realized until you start to look at the big picture. In a game where the Broncos’ offense was stale at times, even downright vanilla, he was always in the right place to make a play and get the offense moving again. He caught five passes on five targets for 98 yards, not astronomical numbers, but the man does not drop balls. If the ball is coming in his direction he will catch it.
Only players with a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted
💯 Tim Patrick
💯 Tyler Lockett pic.twitter.com/iOdRynC56N— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) September 29, 2021
On a team with a lot of young players with “upside”, Patrick has shown that when he is healthy, he will go out and make plays for this team week after week. Who needs upside when you do your job with maximum efficiency?
Worst Offensive Performance- Javonte Williams- 42.3 (72nd of 72 Running Backs)
Javonte Williams is explosive, we have witnessed this already in his young career, but Sunday’s game against the Jets will be one he will need to put behind him, immediately.
Williams rushed for 29 yards on 12 attempts, averaging only 2.4 yards per carry and also recorded a fumble. He was able to punch in a short distance touchdown early on, but that was really the only redeeming play with an otherwise disappointing performance.
Javonte Williams, in many regards, has been impressive.
But this is a rookie mistake and one of two times in this game he took six points off the board.
Designed RPO and Noah Fant is going to be wide open.
Teddy is trying to pull the ball out, but to no avail. pic.twitter.com/USBF99h4fo
— Sayre Bedinger (@SayreBedinger) September 28, 2021
As a rookie this should, under no circumstances, be a sign of things to come for Williams. Chalk it up to him just being a rookie and still learning the game.
Best Defensive Performance- Justin Simmons 91.3 (1st of 103 Safeties)
Justin Simmons has made the 180-degree turn, going from a week two team worst performance to a week three team best.
Justin Simmons & this @Broncos defense 💪 #BroncosCountry
📺: #NYJvsDEN on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/vwvdSXFl9x— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2021
Simmons was all over the field, impacting play on all levels and came away with a beautiful interception late in the 4th quarter to put a stamp on this dominant defensive display.
The murmurs had begun in some circles, wondering if Simmons had been overpaid or was even losing some of his luster, but his play against the Jets should be enough to quiet those naysayers.
He did what leaders do and bounced back, leading his unit to a shutout, and immensely difficult feat in today’s NFL.
Worst Defensive Performance- Justin Strnad- 43.8 (87th of 110 Linebackers)
What can everyone really glean from this showing from Justin Strnad? The answer is nothing. Sure, he didn’t have a very good game, that’s fine. They still posted a shutout.
Take from it what you will but when a defense does their job perfectly, overanalyzing individual play just seems to be an exercise in unwarranted nitpicking.