Denver’s loss on Sunday at the
hands of the 3-6 Rams may have been the low point of the Peyton Manning Era in
Denver. When Denver got smoked by Seattle in the Super Bowl, at least it was
the Super Bowl, and they got crushed by a really good team. Sunday’s loss was a
real eye-opener for numerous reasons. The Broncos got completely outplayed from
the get-go, and their road woes continued. I had a sneaky suspicion that the
Broncos were in trouble because they haven’t started well on the road all year
long. Also, their offensive line continues to be a problem, and that will hurt
any team when they hit the road. Sunday’s loss was also brutal because Denver
came away banged up. Montee Ball hurt his groin and he is out indefinitely,
Emmanuel Sanders suffered a concussion, and Julius Thomas hurt his ankle. It
was a bad day to say the least for the Broncos, and it creates some doubt going
forward.
Here are my thoughts and
observations from the game…
1) The
Broncos again got off to a slow start on offense, and the next thing you knew
they were down 13-0. Shaun Hill’s bomb to Kenny Britt gave the Rams the 10-0
lead, and you just knew that this was going to be trouble for Denver.
2) The
Broncos and John Fox can say what they want about the confidence in rookie
kicker Brandon McManus but when you go for it on 4th and 5 in the 1st
quarter that to me tells the story. They have no confidence in McManus! The
worst part is that at least with Matt Prater once you got inside the other
team’s 40, you were in field goal range. The Broncos 4th down play
failed, and the Rams capitalized on the next play to make it 10-0.
3) I’m
not going to kill the Denver defense for giving up over 100 yards to Tre Mason
and giving up 22 points to Shaun Hill. The defense was put into an awful spot
time after time during the game. They forced the Rams to kick 5 field goals,
and they were able to get some key stops when they needed it. Don’t hang this
loss on the defense.
4) The
blame for this loss goes on the coaching staff and the offense. First, our
offensive line is still a mess. We can’t run the ball, and now they have
problems picking up blitzes and stunts on critical downs. Also, Adam Gase
completely abandoned the running game right from the start. I know Denver was
down early, but at least try to keep the defense honest. I know he lost some of
his weapons due to injury, but Peyton Manning wasn’t sharp at all on Sunday. He
did have a sweet touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders for 42 yards to cut the
lead to 13-7 in the second quarter, but he threw two awful interceptions into
coverage in the second half. He now has 6 interceptions in his last 3 games.
That could be very alarming, but all three of those games were on the road. He
missed an open Demaryius Thomas on a deep post that would have given Denver a
14-13 lead in the 3rd quarter. He overthrew him and Thomas would
have walked into the endzone if it is a good throw. Manning needs to get back
on track a little here.
5) John
Fox’s decision to not call timeouts at the end of the half and give Manning a
chance to get the ball back was awful. Even Manning was shaking his head on the
sideline. You have to wonder about Fox’s game management at times. It really
makes you wonder if you can trust him in these big games. With 2:00 minutes left
in the half, Denver had all three timeouts. They stop the Rams on 1st down on a
short pass for no gain. On 2nd down, with 1:16 to play in the half,
the Rams run the ball up the middle for a gain of six. Call timeout there! Make
them run a play to get the first down on 3rd down. Fox elects not to
do that for some reason, and the Rams let the clock run down and then run the
ball on 3rd down and then Denver finally takes a timeout with 30
seconds left. There wasn’t enough time after the punt and the Broncos just
knelt down to end the half. Awful, awful job by Fox and his use of timeouts in
that situation.
6) It
was the lowest points scored by the Broncos in the Peyton Manning Era, and it
was definitely the low point for them as a franchise in the last three years.
It makes you nervous because this team still has 3 really tough road games left
on the schedule: at KC, at SD, and at Cincy. Now, they are tied at 7-3 with KC
atop the AFC West. This is going to be a dogfight just to win the division.
Their offense is not even close to last year, their running game is terrible,
their offensive line is a mess, and they are very inconsistent. Throw in the
fact that they have no threat in the return game, and their kicker has no
confidence from the coaching staff. It is safe to say that there is a lot to be
worried about in Denver right now. The Broncos are at a crossroads, and they
didn’t face this type of adversity all year last year. After 10 games this
year, adversity has hit them square in the face.
7) With
all that said, every team faces tough times during the season. Last year, the
Broncos didn’t really have that, but this year they do. As a fan, you can’t
think too far ahead. Don’t worry about homefield advantage, seeding, and
division titles. Just worry about winning the next game. For the Broncos, that
is this Sunday at home against a dangerous Miami Dolphins team. This will not
be an easy game at all-especially with the injuries and uncertain statuses of
Julius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. All week you are going to hear how Denver
is fading. All week you will hear about the decline of Peyton Manning and all
the other flaws that this team has. That doesn’t mean anything as long as they
go out and win at home over the Dolphins on Sunday. Get to 8-3 and worry about
the next game. That has to be the mindset.
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