Getty Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater reacts after the game against the New York Giants.
The Denver Broncos’ quarterback is ready to go after the finest victory of his tenure.
Teddy Bridgewater led a fledgling Broncos team into Arlington before dismantling the Dallas Cowboys 30-16 in Week 9. Now, with a competitive 5-4 record, Denver welcomes the very beatable Philadelphia Eagles to Mile High.
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Bridgewater: We Took The Cheese
If previous results are anything to go by, Denver should have enough to account for the 3-6 Eagles. However, Week 10 isn’t the time to abandon modesty. Bridgewater and respect seem to go hand-in-hand, humility is never far behind No. 5 either. Though the former New Orleans signal-caller suggested the Broncos got caught up in the hype earlier this season.
“I think we learned a huge life lesson that you’ve just got to be humble,” Bridgewater told reporters, Nov 10. “You’re 3-0 everyone’s telling you, ‘Oh, Super Bowl,’ and ‘Oh, this team is awesome.’ In reality, it’s always so much more out there. You can always be better, and when you take the cheese and you believe all the things that have been said, it can blow your head up or you can feel like you’ve arrived.
“I think we’ve learned a huge lesson early in the season that you can’t get too high because like I said after the game Sunday — once that rug is pulled from underneath you and you fall flat on your face, everyone is going to laugh at you and tell you how bad you are. You’ve got to have that mindset that we haven’t played our best football. The past two weeks — yeah, it was a great team win Sunday, and against Washington, it was a great team win, but we still haven’t played our best football. That’s the most exciting part about all of this.”
Respect Key to Victory vs. Eagles
Home field should be a safe haven for Bridgewater and co. but they have been anything but convincing in front of Broncos Country. After a resounding home opener against the New York Jets, Denver has wobbled at home — losing convincingly to Baltimore and Las Vegas, before scraping by Washington in Week 8. A win over the Eagles will keep the Broncos in playoff contention before their well-earned bye week.
“We haven’t played our best football at home, so hopefully we can put together a great performance this week, go into the bye week, and get some guys back afterward,” Bridgewater said. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re locked in, laser-focused and just prepare the same way we did these last two weeks. [Then] we’ll give ourselves a chance to win.”
There are concerns as to whether the high of the Broncos’ win at Dallas may result in a comedown against the Eagles. Bridgewater acknowledged situations like these are possible before elucidating how they’ll look to avoid that fate.
“You’ve just got to respect the game, respect your opponent and never forget that dark place that we were in a couple weeks ago,” Bridgewater said. “This is a time in sports where it can be dangerous. Just a couple weeks ago you were hearing, ‘Ah, you guys suck. Get rid of this person and trade this guy.’ Then you win a game or two and it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re the best.’ You’ve got to ignore it all because in this game, there’s going to be highs and there’s going to be lows.
“I think when you go through those moments where you’re losing, it tests your character. With us, it was a test of our character during those four weeks that we didn’t come away with a win. To come away with two wins in a row, that tests your character also. How are you going to respond? Are you going to feel like you’ve arrived, or are you going to approach it like, Hey man, our job is not done.’ We’ve still got this game to focus on and then several more games after this. You’ve just got to respect the game and respect your opponent.”
Follow Patrick Djordjevic on Twitter: @Patdjordjevic