The Lead
If you saw Bradley Chubb after each of his sacks on Thursday, you knew he was hungry for a performance like his 2.5-sack game against the Jets.
Apparently, so did SNICKERS. The chocolate bar brand has been giving out Hungriest Player honors each week, and Chubb earned the nod for Week 4. His reward? Temporary ownership of a SNICKERS chain that boasts more than 31 carats of diamonds, blue sapphires and rubies in a design crafted by jeweler Ben Baller.
"It's hard to really soak it all in at one time, and it just makes you hungry for the next win," Chubb said after the game on Thursday. "... I'm looking forward to just stacking these wins and these sacks and just hoping everything else comes. It's going to be good."
Chubb also was recognized for his big game by NBC Sports' Peter King. The longtime NFL reporter named Chubb one of his two defensive players of the week.
"With Von Miller gone for most or all of the season, Chubb is the only Denver front-seven player who strikes fear into offensive coordinators," King wrote. "After watching him against the woebegone Jets in crunch time, the fear is justified. … On Thursday night in New Jersey, he had 2.5, including the game-clincher with 2:05 left in the game. With Denver up 30-28 and the Jets with a fourth-and-three at midfield, Chubb blew past left tackle Conor McDermott and one-hand-sacked Sam Darnold. A year after ACL surgery, Chubb is starting to look like the player the Broncos drafted fifth overall in 2018."
Below the Fold
The Broncos have clearly relied on their youth as injuries to key players have piled up. At receiver, that has given Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler larger roles than analysts may have expected this early in the season. As they continue to transition to the NFL, Tim Patrick has become the position group's veteran leader, as ESPN’s Jeff Legwold writes. "Starring in a prime-time game is a long way from being waived by both the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers during his rookie year in 2017 before he found his way to the Broncos practice squad in November that season," he writes.
Looking ahead to a Week 5 battle against the Patriots and Bill Belichick, The Athletic's Nick Kosmider analyzed what the Broncos might be able to replicate from their successes on Thursday night. If Brett Rypien is the starter at quarterback again, Kosmider says the Broncos might have to devise more trickery to counter Belichick’s defensive brilliance. "Perhaps the Broncos can throw in a few more plays like Jeff Driskel's option run in the first half of Thursday's game to keep The Hoodie honest, and put the rest on Rypien, a study maniac who now has ample time to steady, to learn from Thursday's mistakes and add to the rhythm he's gained in the past two weeks," Kosmider writes.
