Green Bay Packers @ Denver Broncos
Final Score: Broncos 34, Packers 26
Writer: Kevan Downs (kdsportsnet on Instagram)
A potential Super Bowl preview, this game was back-and-forth all day. The Packers suffered from a first-half inability to put in touchdowns, with three of their first four scores field goals. They put in their third field goal at the end of the first half, then turned around and scored a touchdown out of the half to go up 23-14. From there, the offense would go on to score only three more, limited by Jordan Love‘s two interceptions. The defense struggled to get to Bo Nix, a problem highlighted by Micah Parsons leaving the game early, initial reports fearing a torn ACL. Nix ended his day throwing four touchdown passes, each to different receivers, an output from the offense to match the great play of their defense this year. They were finally able to connect on the deep ball multiple times in this game, resulting in Courtland Sutton‘s first 100-yard game since Week 3.
Four Up
- Josh Jacobs — Despite the injury concerns and pitch count, Jacobs put up one of his most productive days of the season. As long as the injury doesn’t become too serious, the Packers will lean on their star back in tight games when they need him.
- Jayden Reed — Increased his workload following another week coming back off an injury. Especially with the injury and potential missed time for Christian Watson, Reed will need to be relied upon more in the Packers’ passing attack
- Luke Musgrave — While not quite the threat Tucker Kraft had been, Musgrave has seen a slight uptick in usage, a figure that could go up even more if Watson is forced to miss time.
- Courtland Sutton — The chemistry between Sutton and Bo Nix was great in this game. Nix was great at dropping it right in the bucket for Sutton down the field and Nix looks to him in big situations.
Two Down
- Christian Watson — Pending his injury evaluation. He was looking good with Jordan Love in this game, but now he might be forced to miss more time yet again.
- Packers’ defense — At time of writing this, initial reports state that it is believed that Micah Parsons suffered a torn left ACL.
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
Jordan Love: 24/40, 276 Yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs | 3 Carries, 29 Yards
Jordan Love was always going to need to play better to win against this Broncos defense. He missed several passes that he should have been able to complete. Following Christian Watson‘s departure from the game, the offense struggled to sustain drives, although Matthew Golden did come up big with some catches late in the game. He is in line to potentially see an uptick in usage if Watson misses more time due to injury.
Notes
- Love struggled with ball placement in this game. Sometimes it was due to being under pressure, forcing a hurried or more difficult throw, others were just a bad ball. Although, at times, his receivers didn’t do him any favors, including this one off the hands of Dontayvion Wicks that resulted in an interception.
Tipped & picked!
📺: CBS
pic.twitter.com/XQYyW77AlT— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 15, 2025
Missed Opportunities
- Love missed Romeo Doubs in the end zone early in the game. The ball needed to be placed towards his outside shoulder. It sailed more inside, allowing the defensive back to make a play on it and break it up. The Packers would go on to score a field goal on the drive.
- A long series of misplaced balls, drops, etc. that forced drives to stall, limiting further opportunities for points.
Running Back
Josh Jacobs: 12 Carries, 73 Yards, 1 TD | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 19 Yards, 1 TD
Despite the injury concerns coming into this week, Josh Jacobs still got RB1 usage out of this backfield. In big games, big moments, the Packers will still put their star running back on the field when they need him. Despite the box score showing 6 yards per carry, it wasn’t Jacobs’ best game as far as real-life football is concerned. He had more rushes for short gains or negative yards than typical.
Notes
- The Packers used Jacobs in more ways than we are used to seeing. He caught multiple balls after lining up as a receiver, including this touchdown reception.
WHAT A CATCH JOSH JACOBS!#ProBowlVote
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/voGiH0yyEi
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 14, 2025
- Jacobs had some great pass-protection reps in this game.
Missed Opportunities
- Jacobs had a rushing touchdown called back due to an illegal shift. However, later in the drive is when he got his receiving touchdown.
Chris Brooks: 2 Carries, 10 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
Chris Brooks is on the field more in passing situations. He won’t see an increased role unless their is an injury to Jacobs.
Emanuel Wilson: 2 Carries, 3 Yards
Early in the game, it seemed like Emanuel Wilson might get more usage. Jacobs wasn’t on the field at all during the Packers’ second drive of the game. The broadcast was mentioning the Packers keeping Jacobs on a pitch count. However, the Packers needed their starting running back out there more and kept running him, keeping Wilson’s usage to a minimum. Like Brooks, he won’t see an increase in usage barring an injury to Jacobs. He is more likely to see a larger increase in usage compared to Brooks given their running and receiving back roles, making Wilson the handcuff to own.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jayden Reed: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 55 Yards
Another week off injury, another week of increased usage. With how much Love spreads the ball around, it’s tough to trust any one receiver, but with Watson potentially missing time, Jayden Reed could see yet another uptick in targets.
Notes
- While not getting elite target volume, Reed is good at getting open for easy completions. Love connected with him multiple times near the sideline on out routes, and would put Reed in motion to gain a more favorable position against particular defensive schemes, one of which resulting in him being wide open on the sideline and providing a chance for big yards after the catch.
Luke Musgrave: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 52 Yards
Likely not a tight end you want to have to rely upon this late in the fantasy season, but Luke Musgrave and Love were on the same page much of the day.
Notes
- As stated above, Love had multiple bad balls thrown at Musgrave. Even though he still came down with them, they limited his chances for yards after the catch.
Missed Opportunities
- On the Packers’ second drive of the game, Musgrave caught a pass for 23 yards. Had the pass been not quite as high, Musgrave wouldn’t have fallen to the ground after catching it, and had green in front of him for yards after the catch.
- On the next drive, he had a 7-yard reception that could have gone for more as well if it were a better ball.
Matthew Golden: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 55 Yards
Matthew Golden might be the biggest beneficiary of Watson going down. He had the most notable increase in usage once Watson left the game.
Missed Opportunities
- Golden and Love couldn’t connect deep on a play that was affected by a defensive pass interference penalty.
Christian Watson: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 29 Yards
Like all of the Packers’ receivers, Watson wasn’t seeing elite target volume, but his absence was noticeable after his injury. At this point you really just want to see Watson healthy for an extended period of time in his career.
Missed Opportunities
- Love gave Watson a chance on a deep ball. However, the pass was intercepted by Patrick Surtain II, the play that Watson got injured on.
🎮🎮🎮#ProBowlVote + @PatSurtainll pic.twitter.com/L8QeUvUxhR
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 14, 2025
Romeo Doubs: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 36 Yards
A quiet day for Romeo Doubs as far as targets go. But shoutout to him for his communication and blocking on Jacobs’ 40-yard touchdown run.
OPE! He just scooted right past ya#ProBowlVote + Josh Jacobs
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/ml7QmjG1Hz
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 14, 2025
Denver Broncos
Quarterback
Bo Nix: 23/34, 303 Yards, 4 TDs | 7 Carries, 10 Yards
This game was huge for Bo Nix. While having an incredible defense, the Broncos still had their doubters and that comes down to how Nix has played this year. He hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t played to the highs we saw down the stretch last year. The offense started slow due to struggles in the run game. After that, Nix was great and found four receivers for touchdowns.
Notes
- Nix avoided the Packers’ pass rush well. Going up against a pass rush featuring Micah Parsons will never be an easy task, but Nix was able to end the day having been sacked zero times. He excels throwing on the run regardless if he is forced to roll right or left.
Missed Opportunities
- On two drives during the fourth quarter, the Broncos turned the ball over on downs, one of which was a run play that got stuffed on a fourth-and-1. Given Nix’s ability to run the ball, they may try to keep it in his hands in similar situations moving forward.
Running Back
RJ Harvey: 19 Carries, 64 Yards, 1 TD
Just a consistently positive day for RJ Harvey. He didn’t have an insane yards per carry or anything but kept the negative plays to a minimum. These won’t show up in the stat sheet, but avoiding second- or third-and-long is huge for an offense to keep drives going.
Notes
- Harvey runs better when taking it towards the outside. You can feel the offense is missing the presence of the between the tackles back in J.K. Dobbins, but as long as Harvey keeps producing positive plays, he’ll keep getting the usage. Early in the game, it was questionable if Jaleel McLaughlin was going to get more run following Harvey’s fumble on the first drive. However, he was quickly put back in, and got nearly all the touches out of this backfield.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Courtland Sutton: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 113 Yards, 1 TD
Courtland Sutton owners been waiting for this one. Any doubters of the Broncos’ offense likely bring up their seemingly lack of big plays. In this game, Sutton and Nix were great with the deep ball. Even to the point where, when facing a third-and-3, Nix took a shot for his WR1 and dropped it perfectly into the basket.
Notes
- Sutton is Nix’s go-to receiver. In this game, they connected on quick, shorter routes, where Sutton is able to use his body to minimize the ability of the defensive back to make a play on the ball. They also found each other on the deep ball. They connected multiple times down the sideline, included once for a touchdown.
14-yard TD for 14. 🙌#ProBowlVote + @SuttonCourtland#ProBowlVote + @BoNix10 pic.twitter.com/Ll0BYt6HKv
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 14, 2025
Troy Franklin: 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 85 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Carry, 3 Yards
The Broncos keep Troy Franklin involved all over the field. He caught passes off of quick hitch routes, screens, and connected with Nix for his touchdown down the seam. He’s not as consistent in the offense as Sutton is, but presents a weekly upside.
Notes
- Franklin and Nix continued to show moments of great chemistry. A play where Nix was rolling to the right and looking like he was either going out of bounds and throwing it away, Franklin didn’t give up on the play and slipped behind his defender where Nix was able to make a cross-body throw to him for a first down.
Missed Opportunities
- Franklin was tackled off a screen play near the goal line. The officials ruled him down, but on the replay, it showed Franklin was tackled onto the body of the defensive back and never actually his the ground. He would have taken that pass in for another touchdown.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 42 Yards, 1 TD
Lil’Jordan Humphrey came up big in the first half with his touchdown reception. Near the goal line, Nix fit the ball into a very tight window that Humphrey was able to dive for and bring in the catch. He stays behind Sutton, Franklin, and Marvin Mims Jr. in receiver group usage.
Marvin Mims Jr.: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 30 Yards | 1 Carry, 8 Yards
Similar to Lil’Jordan, Mims doesn’t see a ton of targets after Sutton and Franklin get theirs. His speed keeps him involved slightly more than Humphrey, whether it be getting a carry here and there on a jet sweep or as a return man.
Michael Bandy: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 20 Yards, 1 TD
Just wanted to give Michael Bandy a shout. Came up off the practice squad and caught his lone target for a touchdown.