The grief-stricken Denver Broncos honored the late Demaryius Thomas with a coordinated demonstration on the first play of Sunday’s game after the 33-year-old retired receiver collapsed and died in the shower of his Georgia home last week.
Following a moment of silence and a video tribute at Denver’s Empower Field, the Broncos took the field with just 10 men in honor of Thomas, a member of the club’s last Super Bowl-winning team six years ago. As the crowd chanted, ‘DT! DT!’ the Lions declined the delay of game penalty.
Players knelt in tribute to his number 88 painted on their sideline and didn’t bother fighting back tears as a montage of Thomas highlights played on the scoreboard.
‘The best way to honor his legacy is to go out and play great football,’ quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said after the Broncos routed the Detroit Lions 38-10, a thrashing capped appropriately with an 88-yard touchdown drive.
‘He probably was out there with us,’ said choked-up receiver Tim Patrick.
‘That was for DT,’ said Lions coach Dan Campbell. ‘That’s who I did that for.’
The Denver Broncos take the field with 10 players against the Detroit Lions during the first quarter to honor the late former Denver Broncos player Demaryius Thomas at Empower Field At Mile High on Sunday in Denver. The Broncos were penalized but the Lions declined the penalty
Demaryius Thomas (pictured in 2018), a member of the Broncos Super Bowl 50-winning team, died last week in Georgia
Courtland Sutton #14 of the Denver Broncos kneels and takes a moment in front of the #88 tribute logo to the late former Denver Broncos player Demaryius Thomas after the game against the Detroit Lions at Empower Field At Mile High
A Detroit Lions fan holds up a sigh honoring late Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas during Sunday’s game in Denver
Teddy Bridgewater of the Broncos kneels during the tribute to the late former Denver Broncos player Demaryius Thomas
Broncos coach Vic Fangio, who phoned his counterpart Saturday to tell him about the planned missing man formation, called it ‘a classy move on his part. And the Detroit Lions, they’re a classy organization.’
Thomas was found dead in his suburban Atlanta home on Thursday night. His death is believed to have been caused by a medical issue, and a family member later revealed that Thomas collapsed and died in the shower after suffering a seizure.
LaTonya Bonseigneur, Thomas’ first cousin who thought of Thomas like a sibling, shared: ‘He had been suffering from seizures for over a year, and we believe he had a seizure when he was showering.’
‘We’re not sure when he died. We just spoke with him yesterday.’
She added: ‘He was alone and a friend couldn’t get hold of him, so he called his driver, who has a key because of these seizures, and he went into his home and found him in the shower.’
A Broncos fan pays tribute with a sign to the late Demaryius Thomas during Sunday’s game vs. the Detroit Lions
The family was notified by Roswell police Thursday around 9pm. The Broncos organization has been in mourning ever since.
Thomas also played for the Houston Texans, New England Patriots and New York Jets before retiring in 2019.
The Broncos released a statement expressing their devastation and heartbreak for ‘one of the greatest players in franchise history.’
Tom Brady also shared his grief over the passing of his friend: ‘Im so sad to wake up this morning to hear about the passing of my friend Demariyus Thomas. We were all blessed with his humility and positive spirit, and we will all miss him. This photo is from the Hall of Fame this past August, a source of light as always.’
Like so many of their fans, several Broncos arrived at the stadium wearing No. 88 jerseys and kicker Brandon McManus donned custom cleats featuring Thomas’ famous mile-wide smile during the game.
About an hour before kickoff, local artist Armando Silva delivered a portrait of Thomas he painted in the parking lot to the Broncos´ locker room. That was followed by a pregame moment of silence and a video tribute featuring Thomas’ 80-yard touchdown catch from Tim Tebow in overtime against the Steelers on Jan. 8, 2012.
Notorious slow starters, the Broncos scored touchdowns on their first two drives, Williams on a 5-yard run in which he carried safeties Dean Marlowe and Jalen Elliott across the goal line with him, and Gordon on a 1-yard run after a three-and-out by Detroit.
The first quarter ended with the Broncos holding a 14-0 lead, an 11-0 advantage in first downs and a yardage disparity of 135 to minus-1.
Tom Hall wears a homemade sweatshirt in respect to the death of Demaryius Thomas during Sunday’s game in Denver
A Denver Broncos fan pays tribute with a #88 painted on her face honor Demaryius Thomas on Sunday
Fans pay respects to Demaryius Thomas on Sunday. he team built a temporary memorial for Demaryius Thomas at the base of the horse sculptures at Empower Field at Mile High
Their fortunes also flipped when the teams switched sides, however, and Goff quickly drove the Lions downfield and hit Kalif Raymond for the score from 7 yards out.
The Lions pulled to 14-10 on Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal, but the Broncos went into the locker room up 17-10 on McManus’ 52-yarder as the first half expired.
Thomas was found dead in his Georgia home on Thursday night. His death is believed to have been caused by a medical issue, and a family member later revealed that Thomas collapsed and died in the shower after suffering a seizure
The Lions, coming off their first win but hit hard by COVID-19 last week – they had seven players on the virus list Sunday – coughed up the football on the second snap of the third quarter when Shelby Harris punched the ball from Godwin Igwebuike’s grasp and linebacker Jonathon Cooper recovered at the Detroit 30.
Five plays later, Williams caught a 10-yard TD pass from Bridgewater, stretching Denver’s lead to 24-10.
Jones had a dominant series on Detroit’s next drive, dropping Goff for a 9-yard loss on his second sack, stuffing Igwebuike for a 3-yard loss and batting down Goff’s pass on fourth-and-2.
‘That was probably the greatest series of my of my career, like middle school included,’ Jones said. ‘That was sweet for me.’
The Broncos took over at the Lions 33 and Gordon ran it in from 14 yards out. Albert Okwuegbunam’s 4-yard TD catch capped an 88-yard drive late in the fourth quarter.
Denver’s defense also had a goal line stand with safety Kareem Jackson breaking up Goff’s pass to tight end Shane Zylstra on fourth-and-goal from the 4.
Midway through the fourth quarter, safety Justin Simmons picked off a pass and immediately darted to a blue circle on Denver’s sideline, placing the ball in the middle of ’88’ stenciled in white paint.
‘All I thought of,’ said Simmons, ‘was heading over there to DT and giving him the football.’
A man paints a picture at a memorial for Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas before Sunday’s game
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