The Denver Broncos are slated to play on Christmas Day for just the fourth time in franchise history. The boys in orange and blue currently have a 2-1 record on Christmas and will look to add to that win total by beating the Los Angeles Rams. With how poorly the Broncos' season has gone so far, they've essentially been underdogs heading into every game they've played. If this is still the case, will the Broncos be able to pull off some sort of a Christmas Day miracle and get a win over the similarly disappointing Rams? Let's discuss some Broncos Week 16 bold predictions.
2. The Broncos' defense will give Baker Mayfield the fits
As mentioned before, the Broncos' 2022 season has gone as badly as possible. However, one of the few bright spots has been the young defense, led by defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Evero has been able to bring the best out of Denver's young defensive stars, like Patrick Surtain II. Surtain, who is only in his second year in the league, has blossomed into a top cornerback and was selected to the 2023 Pro Bowl.
Broncos Country!! Thanks For all the love and appreciation 🙏🏾🙏🏾 First One… Forever Grateful. Only Up from here ! pic.twitter.com/lESoVWqY7S
— Patrick Surtain (@PatSurtainll) December 22, 2022
Surtain and the rest of the Broncos' defense have tried their best to keep them in games for the entire season. Denver's offense oozes ineptitude and also seems highly allergic to scoring. Despite this, the Broncos have not really been blown out in any of their games this season. All the credit there can be given solely to the defense. A good chunk of their losses have come late in games when the exhausted defense simply cannot hold it all together anymore.
While Russell Wilson will be back under center this week, we'd be hard-pressed to predict any sort of monumental offensive turnaround in Week 16. With Denver's offense likely still being below average and the Rams playing with Baker Mayfield as their starting quarterback, this game could easily be a low scoring one. With Mayfield's magic wearing off after a thorough beating by the Green Bay Packers in Week 15, the Broncos' defense could have themselves a bit of a field day. Expect a multi-turnover game by Denver's D.
1. Jerry Jeudy will be the Broncos' leading receiver
In the first few years of his pro career, Jeudy has received a fair amount of criticism. Being a first-round draft pick, Jeudy hasn't performed at a high enough level to prove to fans that he was worth the pick. To Jeudy's defense, however, he has had a slew of different coaches, schemes, and quarterbacks in his short career so far. It's a bit hard to find consistency when everything around him has been anything but consistent.
In the last couple of weeks, though, we've seen some glimpses from Jeudy that have shown us that he has the makings to be a superstar. He's managing to get even more separation from defenders and finally getting more looks from the quarterback as well. Are the Broncos now understanding how to properly use Jeudy? Maybe.
Jerry Jeudy clips vs. the Arizona Cardinals pic.twitter.com/YRXxwSkSNP
— Frankie Abbott (@FrankiesFilm) December 20, 2022
Put Jeudy on the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen throwing him the rock, and he'd be churning out big plays and big scores like it's nothing. But unfortunately, the Broncos' offense is clearly not as established as the Bills' high-powered attack. That isn't saying they could never look like the Bills' offense, though. On paper, the Broncos certainly have the weapons to boast a high-flying offense, but now it's a matter of actually putting it together and using players correctly. Use Jeudy correctly, and he could easily establish himself as the Broncos' top wide receiver.
The Rams' defense might focus on big-bodied wide receiver Courtland Sutton and place their best cornerback, Jalen Ramsey, on him. If Sutton gets the majority of Ramsey's attention, Jeudy could continue his recent success against the Rams. Maybe a game with over 75+ receiving yards and one touchdown?
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