The scoop-and-score was the post-SB50 Broncos in a nutshell
Nov 15, 2021, 1:53 PM
The Broncos had a chance to be 6-4 going into their bye week. In typical Broncos fashion, however, they blew it.
There are many reasons the Broncos lost to the Eagles – wide-open Philadelphia receivers, the lack of a run defense, a pathetic offense. But the entire season and really the last five years can all be summed up by Melvin Gordon’s fumble.
Bad teams always get in their own way. The Broncos lived up to that axiom.
The Broncos were down 20-13 when Justin Simmons picked off Jalen hurts. The momentum was turning and the fans were going wild. It was a prime opportunity to tie the game and put the Eagles on their heels. However, as bad teams tend to do, The Broncos shot themselves in the foot.
On fourth-and-two from the Eagles 23-yard line, the Broncos handed the ball off to Gordon. He gets the first down, but that’s where it ends. He fumbled the ball, something he has a history of doing going back to his Chargers days, and it only gets worse from there.
Darius Slay picked up the ball and blew the doors off the entire Broncos offense to return it for a touchdown, salting the game at 27-13. The game technically wasn’t over, but everyone watching knew it was.
The fumble return for a touchdown defines the Broncos for the past five years. The culture that has been created is so volatile, they don’t know how to handle success. Everything about that play is a time capsule of the current Broncos.
Zero effort from Teddy Bridgewater to make the tackle. Gordon’s lack of pride in taking care of the football. Answering a possible game-changing interception with their own debacle. If you could describe the Broncos last five seasons in one instance, that play would be it.
