The Denver Broncos have remained in the thick of the playoff chance for one of the two wild-card spots after inching past the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 on Sunday afternoon.
However, it came at a cost with tight end Jeff Heuerman suffering three broken ribs and a bruised lung in the contest that will end his 2018 campaign. Head coach Vance Joseph discussed the loss of Heuerman and that impact moving forward this season, according to Aric DiLalla of Denverbroncos.com.
“Obviously, Heuerman’s a big loss,” Joseph said Monday. “We’ve lost three guys in that room so far with [Jake Butt], [Troy] Fumagalli and now Jeff. He’s had a great year, he’s a great leader for that room, so he’ll be missed. But we’ve got some guys that we feel good about in [Matt] LaCosse — he’s playing good football — and [Brian] Parker. It’s next man up. We’ve got to move on.”
Heuerman had emerged as a highly dependable receiving option in the passing game this season hauling in 31 receptions for 281 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. He had notched two catches on three targets for 44 receiving yards against the Steelers prior to the injury. Heuerman is just a two games removed from his best outing this year where he had 10 receptions for 83 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Houston Texans.
The 26-year-old's absence now creates a bigger void in the passing game that will have to be filled by their other offensive weapons such as wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton, and third-year tight end Matt LaCosse. LaCosse may see an increased role as he had immediate action against the Steelers where he made three catches for 34 receiving yards and a touchdown.
This should all pan out over the next few days with LaCosse likely getting first-team reps to get him more comfortable to take the field for Sunday's contest against the Cinncinati Bengals.
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