The Broncos had their biggest game in years at home on Sunday to the Bengals and they came out on the wrong end in a disappointing 15-10 loss. The Broncos are now 7-7, and only have a 5% chance at making the playoffs this year with three games to go. It was a very disappointing and frustrating game-especially from an offensive standpoint, and it will be a game that the Broncos will be thinking about all offseason because it was a game that they could have won. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way. Here are my thoughts on the game.....
1) The Broncos offense was not good at all this game. I thought the play-calling was suspect, Teddy Bridgewater didn't play well, the receivers weren't good enough, and the offensive line didn't hold up their end as well. The offense lost this game for the Broncos.
2) The Broncos defense played a great game except for one big play. The touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Tyler Boyd was the big play that gave Cincy the lead at 15-10 after Denver took a 10-9 lead late in the third quarter. You can't fault the defense. If you give up 15 points at home, you should win the game.
3) The sequence of events at the end of the half was killer. The Broncos used up most of the clock and were looking for a field goal at the end of the half to take a 6-3 lead, and they were getting the ball to start the second half, so maybe they could have doubled up the points there. Instead, on third down, Bridgewater throws a bad incomplete pass to Javonte Williams and they settle for the long field goal, which Brandon McManus misses. Then, Cincy converts a pass play and gets a 58 yard field goal at the end of the half to take a 6-3 lead instead of Denver being up 6-3.
4) The big moment came when after Teddy Bridgewater got knocked out of the game with a concussion and Drew Lock stepped in. He threw a TD pass to Tim Patrick on that drive to give Denver a 10-9 lead. After falling behind 15-10, Lock made some really nice throws and with the combination of Williams and Melvin Gordon, Denver drove down to the Cincy 10 for a first and goal. On 2nd and goal, Lock kept the ball on a zone read run play, and he got stripped by the Bengals defender and Cincy had the ball. It was a huge play and cost the Broncos the game.
5) Lock continues to turn the ball over-even in the limited action he has seen this year. That is the story of his career. He makes some great throws, then fumbles inside the 10 yard line, and then throws a little too high for Courtland Sutton on a key third down play late in the 4th quarter. That is Drew Lock in a nutshell. At this point, it looks like he is heading for a career as a backup and his future is probably not in Denver as well.
6) This game was a winnable game and the defense gave the offense every chance to win this game, but like the KC game was a few weeks ago, the offense was just too bad and the QB play killed us in the end. That has been the story for the Broncos for about six years. This team is not good enough to win the game on offense if they have any mistakes and they have no margin of error. Fans are going to complain about Fangio's clock management and decision making at the end of the half, but I don't think that was an issue. The issue was execution and making a freaking FG at the end. They didn't do it and it cost the Broncos.
7) There will be a lot said about what the Broncos do for next year, but that is for when the season over. Right now, the Broncos are 7-7 and technically not out of the Wild Card race. I don't think they are making the playoffs, but since they are still somehow alive, their game Sunday at Las Vegas against the Raiders has meaning. Teddy Bridgewater will most likely be out with a concussion that he suffered in the game on Sunday, so that means that it will be Drew Lock with the season officially on the line against the 7-7 Raiders in Vegas on Sunday.
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