Broncos Stumble in Ugly Loss to Bills, Fall to 2-1

You knew the Broncos weren't as good as their Week 2 blowout win over the Cowboys, but I think a lot of Broncos fans thought that they could go into Buffalo and get out with a win. For a little over a half, it looked like the Broncos were going to pull out a close, road win over a inferior Bills team, but then everything fell apart, and the Broncos got beat 26-16 in a loss that was a very tough one to swallow. Here are my "Five Points" on this game and the impact.......

1) I knew the Broncos were in trouble after Andre Holmes scored on a fluke two yard pass deflection in the end zone to take a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. The Broncos responded with a TD on the next drive with Jamaal Charles to take a 10-7 lead, but that Holmes play just gave me a bad feeling.

2) The turning point for me was late in second quarter. On a 3rd and 4 from their own 11, Trevor Siemian hits Emmanuel Sanders for a 44 yard pass down to the Buffalo 45. Sanders catches the ball, takes three steps, and gets the ball knocked into his gut on the way down, and somehow the refs reviewed it and determined that the catch was actually incomplete. I don't understand how this was not a catch, but the refs ruled no catch and Denver was forced to punt. After the Bills returned the punt to the Broncos 32, they settled for a field goal and tied the game at 10. That was really key sequence of events for the Broncos. They also gave up a field goal right before the half and Buffalo tied it at 13, when it looked like Denver was going to take a 13-10 lead going into the half. The Bills took over at their own 25 and only 42 seconds left and they got a field goal out of it. That can't happen with the Broncos defense.

3) The Broncos and Vance Joseph decided to go for a fake punt at their own 31 on a 4th and 2 with 33 seconds left in the third. The direct snap to DeAngelo Henderson went nowhere and the Broncos turned the ball over on downs. I'm a fan of taking chances in games-especially fake punts and going for it, but I feel like this was the wrong spot because you are too close to your own end, and I just think the risk outweighs the reward at that point. The Bills turned the ensuing drive into a field goal and a 23-16 lead early in the fourth quarter.

4) Trevor Siemian melted down the stretch. He played well for most of the first half, but his two interceptions in the second half really hurt the Broncos and likely decided the outcome. Down 20-16 late in the third quarter, Siemian was flushed out the pocket to his right on a 2nd and 23 and tried to throw over the middle to Bennie Fowler and he got picked off. It was a bad decision and a bad throw, and it cost him. The Broncos got a big sack by Shelby Harris and that knocked the Bills out of field goal range. The next Siemian pick was the killer. With a 1st and 10 at the Buffalo 24 with 10:55 to go in the game, Siemian looked like he was trying to throw the ball away on the sideline, but he got picked off by the Bills. It was an absolute killer and it led to a field goal that iced the game and gave the Bills a 26-16 lead. I'm not killing Siemian and he has played well this season and was playing well in this game up until his interceptions late. I was hoping that Siemian will take the next step by pulling this game out on the road, but I guess we will have to wait at least another week.

5) The taunting call on Von Miller at the end of the game was absolutely awful and it helped decide the game. On a 3rd and 6 from the Denver 46 with just over 7 minutes to go, and the Broncos deflected a Tyrod Taylor pass and it looked like Denver was going to force the punt and get the ball back down 23-16. Miller put his hand out to help pick Taylor up and then he reneged his hand and pulled it away as a joke. Both Miller and Taylor had smiles on their faces and the ref threw the flag and it gave the Bills a key first down and it led to their field goal to put the game away. You can't make that call at that point in the game. It was an absolute horrible call and the ref should be ashamed of himself for basically deciding the game on that call. Awful, awful call and the Broncos got screwed. Terrible call. After licking their wounds, the Broncos head home to take on the Raiders in Denver on Sunday afternoon. Both teams come in at 2-1, so this will be a very big game for both teams. Hopefully, the Broncos can rebound and take down their hated rivals.