The Broncos finished the season on Saturday afternoon with a home loss to the Chiefs 28-24 to finish the 2021 season with a disappointing 7-10 record. The Broncos played tough and had a chance, but ultimately it was not enough. Here are my thoughts on the game.....
1) Give the Broncos credit: They played hard and inspired. They didn't lay down and get rolled over by the Chiefs, who were playing all their starters for seeding in the AFC. The Broncos even dealt with a number of key injuries and they still played the Chiefs tough and had a shot to win it in the end.
2) The Broncos had a 21-17 lead going into the 4th quarter but couldn't pull the game out. Drew Lock had two rushing touchdowns and made some clutch throws in the 4th quarter, and Melvin Gordon added a big TD run to give Denver a chance.
3) This game will be remembered as the "Melvin Gordon Fumble" game. With the Broncos up 21-20 midway through the 4th quarter, they were driving inside the 10 yard line. Gordon got hit right as he got the carry, fumbled, and Chiefs defender Nick Bolton picked it up and raced 86 yards to give the Chiefs the lead 28-20. It was a devastating play and pretty much summed up the Broncos second half of their season.
4) The Broncos did drive down on the next drive and faced a 4th and 9 on the Chiefs 13 yard line with just over 4 minutes to go in the game, and Vic Fangio elected to kick the field goal to make it 28-24 instead of trying to go for it and tie it up. The Broncos never got the ball back as Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs got the first downs they needed and ran out the clock. I thought Fangio should have went for it and not kick the FG, but he elected to kick and try to stop Mahomes-which you knew was not going to happen.
5) Three Broncos fumbles the second half of their season ultimately decided their fate in 2021. The Gordon fumble in the KC game, the Gordon fumble in the Philly game, and the Lock fumble in the Cincy game all decided the outcomes and were huge mistakes in critical moments.
6) The Broncos season ended in disappointment. After starting 3-0, they lost 10 of their next 14 games and finished out of the playoffs for a 6th straight year and a fifth straight losing season. I'll have a whole column on the offseason for the Broncos later this week, but the Broncos were good enough to have won 9-10 games this year, but ultimately it did not go that way.
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