The Broncos are confused about being confused about being confused
Dec 9, 2021, 4:20 PM
On Sunday night, there was some confusion on the Broncos biggest play of the game. Facing a fourth-and-two at the Chiefs eight-yard line – on what was the 20th play of an 88-yard drive – Javonte Williams appeared unsure of the call just before getting the handoff on a play that eventually lost one yard and turned the ball over on downs.
The running back lined up to the right of the formation, glanced over to the Broncos sidelined and gestured for more information, and then moved behind Teddy Bridgewater. After the game, Williams explained the situation.
“It was miscommunication,” the rookie explained. “I thought we were in the gun, but we were under center.”
Seems simple enough. But there was more to the story.
“There was a little confusion,” Vic Fangio added after the game. “By the time that we knew there was confusion, we didn’t think there was, but obviously there was. It was too late to call a timeout.”
So the Broncos head coach admitted that the team was confused on what turned out to be the pivotal play in the biggest game of the season. In addition, he stated that they were confused about whether or not they were confused.
Fangio doubled down the next day. The head coach provided further explanation on what went wrong when trailing 10-3.
“There was definitely some miscommunication there between Teddy making the call and executing the play,” Fangio added. “Teddy gets under center a lot before he moves back to the gun. When it became obvious that he wasn’t going to do that, it was kind of too late for me to run down there and call the timeout. That’s what happened.”
This explanation makes it sound as though the play was supposed to be run out of a shotgun formation, but Bridgewater instead lined up under center. That would certainly explain why Williams was confused when he lined up, as well as provide a reason for why he moved behind the quarterback.
Certainly, this is less than ideal. On the biggest play in the biggest game since Super Bowl 50, the Broncos quarterback lined up incorrectly.
Or so we thought. On Thursday, Pat Shurmur weighed in on the situation.
“There was nothing miscommunicated,” the Broncos offensive coordinator said. “The play was run. We probably just didn’t execute as well as we’d like. That’s all. We were lined up properly based on what we planned to do.”
Wait, what? The running back involved in the play said there was miscommunication. The head coach reiterated that point. Twice. But the offensive coordinator says all was fine.
The Broncos are confused about being confused about being confused. It’s hard to keep it all straight.
Regardless of who was at fault, a timeout should’ve been called. The player who was ultimately getting the ball on the play looked to the sidelines for clarification because the play wasn’t set up in the way he expected. That’s an immediate red flag.
The end result, Williams getting stuffed in the backfield, reiterates this point. The play was a mess from the start, so an ugly outcome shouldn’t be a surprise.
But the Broncos didn’t get a timeout called. They weren’t all on the same page in the moment.
Given that they still aren’t, four days after the fact, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Once again, the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing at Dove Valley.
