ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It wasn’t only that Emmanuel Sanders tied a career-best with 11 catches in just his second game since double-ankle surgeries at 32 years old.
Almost as impressive is Sanders was in on 76 of 82 offensive snaps in Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears – 93% – in just his second game after surgery on both ankles at 32 years old.
Moreover, the Broncos were trailing for all but 31 seconds of the second half so Sanders and his receiver mate Courtland Sutton, who played 78 of 82 snaps, had to sprint route after route after route as his team played catch-up.
Sutton, though, is 23 and coming off no health issues. Did we mention Sanders is 32 and had offseason surgery on each ankle?
“This was a tough game,’’ Sanders said. “I didn’t even realize I played (76) plays. I was just so locked in. My body was telling me that this doesn’t feel right. There were times when I was like, man, why I am I so tired? Why is this game so hard?
“But I kept chugging along. I remember one time when River (Cracraft) was running in, and I thought River was coming to get me. He goes, ‘Courtland [Sutton].’ I go, ‘Noooo.’ I was ready to get out of the game, but I stayed in. I just kept chopping away.
“Our strength coach (Loren Landow), he just said something. He said, ‘That game right there just prepared us for the whole season.’ To play that many snaps and to overcome that adversity that we overcame, I feel like down the road that is going to help us out a lot. Definitely going to help me out a lot because when you’re mentally drained and physically drained, but you have to keep chugging along, you grow from those situations. I’m looking forward to this next game to see us improve off of that.”
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Lambeau memory: Put in Tebow!
The last time the Broncos played the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field was game 4 of the 2011 season. It wasn’t quite Tebow Time, but the pressure was building.
And it was Packer fans applying the pressure.
In the second half of the Packers 48-23 rout of the Broncos – the game wasn’t that close – Packer fans started chanting, “Tee-bow, Tee-bow, Tee-bow” in hopes Denver coach John Fox would pull quarterback Kyle Orton and put in Tim Tebow.
Fox didn’t budge that day but two weeks later he did, and Tebow went on to lead the Broncos to one of their most magical seasons in history.
To virtually zero fanfare, Fox did put in an undrafted rookie cornerback named Chris Harris to mop up that game against the Packers.
After playing primarily special teams through the Broncos’ first three games, Harris had four tackles while playing the last quarter or so against the Packers.
Eight years later, Harris returns to the place where it somewhat started for him when the Broncos play the Pack in Lambeau Field on Sunday.
“I had great memories there,’’ Harris said Tuesday. “I don’t think we had a great team overall memory of that game.
“It’s fun playing in Lambeau. I love it. I love that historic feel. I have a lot of games that I circle. I call them money games. This is definitely a money game for sure.”
Bronco Bits
The Broncos, a 7.5-point underdog against Green Bay, are an early 3-point favorite for their home game against Jacksonville in week 4
The Broncos’ offense has had a league-low 17 possessions through two games. They have reached the opponents’ side of the 50 in 14 of those 17 possessions, but have just two touchdowns.
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