ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In a season when the Denver Broncos haven’t gotten much good news on the injury front, consider their collective fingers crossed for having linebacker Von Miller and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in the lineup against Washington on Sunday.
Miller, who suffered a left ankle injury last Thursday and has not practiced this week, said Thursday that he’s still confident he will play Sunday. Jeudy, who suffered an ankle injury in the regular-season opener, is poised to be activated off injured reserve.
Jeudy, who has practiced for the past two weeks, should provide some needed big-play pop for an offense that’s once again in the bottom third of the league in scoring — 24th at 20.0 points per game.
“I feel good,” said Jeudy, who had six receptions for 72 yards in just 31 snaps in the opener. “… I’m excited to finally get back on the field.”
Broncos coach Vic Fangio said that if the team’s medical staff cleared Miller to play on Saturday or Sunday, it would be possible for the 32-year-old linebacker to play without any practice this week.
“If that’s all I got — if all I got is game day — then I’ll do it,” Miller said. “… I’ve been in all the meetings, watching all the film, going through this week like I normally do. … Way I’m feeling today, if I can keep making these improvements, I’m feeling really good about my chances.”
Miller has a half sack in the team’s past four games — all losses — after he opened the season with four sacks in the first three games — all wins. As the longest-tenured Broncos player, Miller has openly said it’s time for the team to snap out of its funk.
The Broncos haven’t played in a postseason game since winning Super Bowl 50 to close out the 2015 season.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it panicking, but it’s time to sound the alarm,” Miller said. “That sense of urgency has to be at an all-time high. We can’t go out here and lose. … The pressure is real. This is reality. We’ve lost four games in a row. We can’t lose too many more if we want to be the team we set out to be early in the year.”