FOXBORO, Mass. — The Denver Broncos boast arguably the best 1-2 wide receiver punch the New England Patriots will face this season in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.
The 6-foot-2 Thomas and the 5-foot-11 Sanders have differing skill sets, but they’ve both been incredibly productive weapons this season for first-year quarterback Trevor Siemian. In fact, they’ve posted nearly identical numbers: Thomas has 76 catches for 925 yards, Sanders has 75 for 958, and each has five touchdown receptions. Both rank in the top 10 in the NFL in receiving yards.
As Patriots safety Devin McCourty explained Wednesday, what makes the two wideouts different also is what makes them so difficult to defend.
“I think that’s the tough thing with them, because they’re not similar, really,” said McCourty, whose team visits Denver this Sunday. “On a conference call with Denver (reporters), they asked which one’s harder to cover, and you can’t pick. You’ve got a guy (Thomas) who’s huge that is very fast, and you’ve got another guy (Sanders) who’s not as big but (is) quick and fast.”
What’s more, Thomas and Sanders both have a tendency to come alive late in games. Six of their 10 touchdown catches have come in the fourth quarter.
“I think being able to match up with them for 60 minutes is the toughest thing,” McCourty said. “You’ve seen teams play them tough, get after the quarterback, make some plays, and then the fourth quarter comes, and they hit Thomas for a 50-, 60-yard bomb. Then Emmanuel Sanders breaks a tackle, he gets a 40-yard gain. And next thing you know, they score 10, 17 points in the fourth quarter to win a game.”
The Patriots had trouble with Sanders during the teams’ two meetings last season (11 receptions, 175 yards) but completely neutralized Thomas. The big-bodied receiver was targeted a whopping 20 times over the two games but caught just three passes for 48 yards.
Click to read how the Patriots can stop Thomas and Sanders >>
Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
