The Denver Broncos lost to the Tennessee Titans 17-10 on Sunday afternoon, dropping to 3-6 with the loss.
The Broncos went into the game without wide receiver KJ Hamler (hamstring) and then lost fellow receiver Jerry Jeudy to an ankle injury in the first quarter. Kendall Hinton and Jalen Vigil stepped up at receiver with Hamler and Jeudy sidelined.
Hinton served as the team’s No. 2 receiver, catching four passes for 62 yards. Virgil made his NFL debut on Sunday and he made an instant impact, scoring a 66-yard touchdown on his first career reception.
Denver was also missing several defensive starters on Sunday, with Randy Gregory (knee) on injured reserve and Baron Browning (hip) and safety Justin Simmons (knee) inactive. Nik Bonitto started in the place of Browning at outside linebacker and P.J. Locke got the first start of his career in the place of Simmons.
With multiple injuries at OLB, the Broncos often played with three inside linebackers and sometimes had defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones line up as an outside linebacker. The new-look defensive seemingly confused the Titans and it helped Denver slow down Tennessee’s rushing attack.
Titans running back Derrick Henry was limited to 53 rushing yards on 19 carries, an average of just 2.8 yards per carry.
The Broncos built a 10-point lead in the first half, but the Titans then scored 14 unanswered, giving them a lead they held late into the fourth quarter. Denver quarterback Russell Wilson then drove the offense down to Tennessee’s 25-yard line before throwing an interception that sealed a loss.
Broncos right tackle Billy Turner suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and was replaced by Quinn Bailey, who was elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster on Saturday after offensive tackle Cam Fleming was ruled out with a quad injury. Denver center Graham Glasgow also suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday and was replaced by rookie Luke Wattenberg.
Up next for the Broncos is an AFC West showdown with the Las Vegas Raiders at home at Empower Field at Mile High in Week 11.
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