Why Tim Patrick Has Become The Broncos Top Receiver
DENVER (CBS4) - With the Broncos riding high on a two-game winning streak, one player has stepped up to lead the team's passing attack. Tim Patrick had back-to-back 100 yard receiving games, blossoming into Denver's top receiver. He leads the team with 20 catches for 310 yards and two touchdowns. In the last two games he had 113 receiving yards (against the New York Jets) and 101 yards (against the New England Patriots).
"He's always been that guy to me, in my opinion. Big, strong, physical guy, loves the game of the football," Broncos quarterback Drew Lock said on Sunday after the Broncos beat the New England Patriots 18-12.
With Courtland Sutton out for the season with a torn ACL, Patrick has helped to pick up the slack in the passing game. At 6-foot-4, he has the size and speed to leap over defenders and make the tough catches. This was shown on the second play of the game against the Patriots when Patrick hauled in a 41-yard pass on a "go" route.
Later in the third quarter, Patrick once again beat his man on a "go" route and caught this 35-yard strike from Lock on 3rd-and-21. According to Next Gen Stats, the pass had a 16.9 percent chance to be completed, which was tied for the 9th most improbable completion this season.
"I told (Offensive Coordinator) Coach Shurmur before he got here, 'Hey man, this guy is going to make a lot of plays for us this year.' Again, he's not a media guy. No one is going to freak out about him and get 30,000 tweets about Tim Patrick this year, but he's going to make a lot of plays for us," Lock said.
Patrick hopes to keep his hot play going as the Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at 2:25 p.m.