Keeping in close against the Chiefs showed just what’s missing for the Broncos
Dec 7, 2020, 6:31 AM
The Broncos didn’t get embarrassed in front of a national TV audience. Denver didn’t get blown out by Kansas City. The Chiefs didn’t cruise to another victory.
For some people, that’s cause for a parade. At this point, plenty of fans in Broncos Country are willing to accept that type of moral victory. And many in the local media are ready to spin it as some sort of huge step in the right direction.
But in reality, the Broncos lost to the Chiefs. For the 11th straight time.
Vic Fangio’s team is now 4-8. For the fourth-straight season, Denver isn’t going to finish above .500. And barring a miracle, the Broncos are going to miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season.
This is rock bottom. It’s the worst stretch since the franchise joined the NFL. It’s unprecedented ineptitude for a former Super Bowl winner. It’s unacceptable to those who know what the standards are in Broncos Country.
Nonetheless, there are plenty of people who are preaching patience. They’re screaming that continuity is the answer.
Based on what? Keeping it close against the Chiefs?
Yes, the final score was 22-16. But no one watching the game felt like Denver was within one play of Kansas City.
Tyreek Hill dropped a touchdown, which he actually caught, and that took seven points off the scoreboard. The dynamic receiver had another score wiped away in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs also settled for four field goals. Credit the Broncos defense for holding up in the red zone, but let’s not pretend that Denver shut down Patrick Mahomes and Company. They were knocking on the doorstep all night long.
Meanwhile, the Broncos weren’t really close to scoring any more points. Save for the field goal Brandon McManus missed at the end of the first half, Denver didn’t leave any points on the field.
In other words, 22-16 could’ve easily been 40-19. And that would’ve been par for the course, as the Chiefs have repeatedly routed the Broncos in recent years.
Why? Well, that’s a more complicated story.
First and foremost, it falls on the quarterback. Drew Lock simply wasn’t good enough on Sunday night.
Beating Kansas City will take more than a 15-of-28, 151-yard performance. Throw in two interceptions, even if they’re offset by two touchdowns, and it’s just not going to work against the best team in the league.
The reality check came in the final minute of the game. Denver’s defense held Kansas City to a late field goal, keeping the Broncos within six. It set up a golden opportunity for Lock.
Yes, the deck was stacked against him. He was on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions. He has no timeouts to work with and needed to go 75 yards. But great quarterbacks seize the moment.
If the situation was reversed, would Broncos fans have been comfortable with Mahomes in that situation? Of course not. Everyone would’ve expected the Chiefs quarterback to lead a game-winning drive.
The same can be said for all of the best in the business. If nothing else, they’d have made things interesting.
Lock never got close. Ultimately, he threw an interception at midfield, as the Broncos went out with a whimper.
But it’s not just the quarterback who isn’t ready for primetime. The head coach isn’t either.
For the most part, Vic Fangio was good on Sunday night. His defense held the Chiefs to 22 points. No matter how what, that was a solid performance.
In key moments, however, the head coach stubbed his toe. Again.
With 2:45 to play in the first half, the Broncos led 10-6. The goal at that point was to run out the clock; Denver couldn’t allow Mahomes another chance to score, especially since the Chiefs were going to get the ball after halftime.
The Broncos managed to bungle the situation, however. Despite moving the ball, they failed to score points or run out the clock.
Facing a fourth-and-eight at the Kansas City 39-yard line, Fangio should’ve punted the ball. Even though Brandon McManus can make a 57-yard field goal, attempting a field goal wasn’t the smart play. It would set the Chiefs up in great field position if the kicker missed with 33 seconds left in the half.
Sure enough, after Fangio iced his own kicker with an ill-advised timeout, McManus was wide left. Twenty-eight seconds later, Kansas City kicked a field goal that cut the lead to 10-9.
That was a huge tactical error in a close game. It was classic Fangio.
But it wasn’t the last one. The head coach had a chance to redeem himself at the end of the game, but he once again pushed the wrong button.
Trailing 19-16, the Broncos faced a fourth-and-three at their own 49-yard line with 6:13 to play. Punting the ball put the onus on their defense, which is where Fangio leans, so he kicked it away.
Mahomes proceeded to put together a 10-play, 55-yard drive that burned 5:03 off the clock. It all but ended Denver’s chances, leaving Lock with little time to work with at the end of the game.
That was a miss by Fangio on two fronts. First, he didn’t roll the dice at the right time. The Broncos kept the game close. They had a chance to win it down the stretch. It was going to take a daring moment to pull it off. Faced with that instance, the head coach blinked.
But ultimately, it came down to one drive. Denver’s defense needed to get a stop. As has often been the case during Fangio’s tenure, his group couldn’t make a play; they couldn’t turn the game in the final moments.
Was the Broncos efforts against the Chiefs admirable? Sure.
But to twist that performance into some sort of evidence that Lock is the answer at quarterback or Fangio is the right head coach is silly. In fact, the opposite is true.
With the right player behind center, Denver could’ve won in Kansas City. And with the right guy calling the shots, they could’ve pulled a huge upset.
There are no moral victories. Not in Broncos Country.
Close losses aren’t a cause for celebration. They’re evidence as to what is missing to close the gap.
