Honorable Mention Stud – Demaryius Thomas

Heading into Week 8, the Broncos’ $70 million man was catching some serious flack from fans and the local media. And perhaps justifiably so. After getting a huge payday in the offseason, Demaryius Thomas looked to be the same guy from early 2014 who couldn’t hang on to balls because he was reportedly too preoccupied with his contract status.

According to sportingcharts.com, Thomas ranked third in the NFL in dropped passes through the first seven weeks of the season, including a bye. Well, he responded on Sunday following the bye with a monster performance.

On the night, Thomas pulled in eight catches for 168 yards on 11 targets. The real key to his stat line was zero drops. His big number on the night was six first downs. Thomas and Manning connected for 25 percent of Denver’s moving the chains on the night.

His long catch on the night was 47 yards, and while he didn’t find the end zone, he was constantly wide open for Manning all night.

Next up… we reluctantly crown a dud.