With Courtland Sutton out for the year with a knee injury, and winless Denver giving quarterback Brett Rypien his first NFL start, the Broncos desperately needed someone in the receiving corps to provide a spark Thursday night.
Much-hyped rookie Jerry Jeudy and often-overlooked Tim Patrick did just that in a 37-28 win over the Jets at MetLife Stadium, as the duo combined for 174 of Rypien’s 242 passing yards and both of his touchdowns.
Jeudy hauled in his first NFL touchdown grab, “Mossing” cornerback Pierre Desir on an under-thrown ball in the second quarter to give the Broncos their first lead. He had two catches overall for 61 yards. And Patrick set a career high with 113 yards receiving on six receptions, plus recorded his first score since 2018.
Coach Vic Fangio was “not surprised” by Patrick’s banner day or Jeudy’s catalyzing touchdown.
“Tim’s a quality NFL receiver — he’s got size, he’s tough, he’s competitive at the ball,” Fangio said. “(And) Jeudy’s touchdown was a tremendous play on his part. We’re going to see him grow more and more as this season goes on.”
Both wideouts took contrasting routes to the NFL, with Jeudy as the Broncos’ first-round pick this year and Patrick as a grind-it-out, third-year pro who went undrafted out of Utah and spent 2017 on Denver’s practice squad. But both were key in Denver picking up its first win of the season. In addition to Jeudy’s touchdown, Patrick caught balls at critical moments in the game.
The 26-year-old had a 40-yard reception on third-and-7 in the second quarter, a seven-yard touchdown catch on 3rd-and-6 in the third quarter and a seven-yard catch that set up Brandon McManus’ 54-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Later, Patrick’s 41-yard reception on third-and-7 with 4:10 to play put the Broncos in position for McManus’ go-ahead field goal.
“It’s huge, and it’s even better because of the timing of the plays,” Patrick said. “Some people have 100 yards and it’s just 100 yards. The ball came my way in tough situations and I made the plays, and (I’m proud) it helped us get that win.”
So can Patrick and Jeudy — alongside rookie wideouts KJ Hamler (who injured his hamstring in the win) and Tyrie Cleveland — continue to fill the void left behind by Sutton? The Broncos’ top receiving duo is planning on it, with Jeudy expressing confidence in that fact and Patrick already hungry for more opportunities.
“That’s definitely a standard (I’d like to develop),” Patrick said. “The roles I’ve been in, I never usually set standards because you never know how many targets you’re going to get. I know I’m capable of doing it, it’s just about getting the chance to do it, and tonight I was able to get the chance to do it. I showed what I could do.”
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