The Denver Broncos’ 2017 season is now three weeks old.
Three games isn’t nearly enough time to get a solid grasp on the true identity of any team, but it is enough time to get an idea of what might work for them as the season progresses.
One of the Broncos’ goals this season was to find a reliable, third receiver — and they seem to have found one in Bennie Fowler.
Fowler started the season with a bang — a three-catch 21-yard performance against the Los Angeles Chargers. Those numbers don’t usually fit into the ‘big game’ category, but two of Fowler’s three catches were touchdowns.
He was unable to match his performance against the Chargers in the Broncos’ game against the Dallas Cowboys the following week; after catching a pass for eight yards a concussion knocked him out for the rest of the game. After hitting his head hard on the turf while attempting to make a catch, Fowler’s status for game against the Bills in question. He passed the final stage of the concussion protocol before Sunday’s game — and turned out to be one of the lone bright spots for a Broncos’ offense that had a disappointing showing in their first loss of the season.
Fowler hasn’t duplicated his Week 1 performance, but he has been reliable nonetheless. In Sunday’s 26-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Fowler caught four passes for 55 yards, helping the Broncos’ extend a few early first-half drives.
The relentless Bills’ pass rush defense rattled quarterback Trevor Siemian, and that’s a large part of the reason that they were able to hand the Broncos their first loss of the 2017 season. The offense wasn’t effectively on Sunday, but it certainly shows potential when Fowler finds a way to contribute as he has through three weeks.