–“We pretty much just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. We were sustaining drives, and the next thing you know – penalty,” said Broncos nose tackle Shelby Harris. “Then another penalty, then it just knocked us out. It’s just dumb penalties that I feel like we can control and that’s the biggest thing.”
The Broncos had 13 penalties for 120 yards in last week’s loss to the Ravens. The infractions cost Denver field position as well as negating a touchdown return off a blocked kick.
–Broncos rookie running backs Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman have combined for 350 yards rushing and rank second and fourth, respectively, among rookie rushing leaders. Lindsay has 198 yards on 33 carries while Freeman has 152 yards.
–Quarterback Case Keenum is one touchdown pass shy of 50 for his career.
Keenum has gone 13-4 as a starter since the start of the 2017 season. His winning percentage of .765 ranks third-best in that span behind Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz (.857) and the Los Angeles Rams’ Jared Goff (.778).
–Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders have each had 100 yards receiving in the same game seven times since 2014.
BY THE NUMBERS: 44.6 — Punter Marquette King’s punt average, which ranks among the bottom third in the league. He is off to slow start with the Broncos, who signed him to a three-year, $7 million deal after he was cut by Raiders coach Jon Gruden. Denver then traded away incumbent punter, Riley Dixon, to the New York Giants. King had a 39.3-yard net punting average on seven punts in last week’s loss at Baltimore, contributing to Denver’s field position problems throughout the game. The Broncos put King on notice that their patience is not unlimited. They signed punter Colby Wadman to the practice squad. “We have to get better there,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said of the team’s punting game. “We’re looking forward to Marquette having a good week of punting. It’s a performance-based business.”
