Melvin Gordon “a little salty” after yet another costly fumble

The Denver Broncos had a golden opportunity to put their foot on the Las Vegas Raiders throat; driving late in the second quarter and up 10-7, they could’ve gotten a score, halftime break, and then another score. Instead, the Broncos ended up with zero points on their back-to-back possessions and saw their lead dwindle, eventually resulting in an overtime loss.

Stop if you’ve heard this before; the play that changed this all was a Melvin Gordon fumble.

With a timeout left and a third and one on the Las Vegas’ two, Denver drew up a run to Gordon, and he came through. He got the first down, and Denver should’ve gotten a few shots at a touchdown before, at worst, settling for a field goal. But Gordon didn’t go down; the ball popped out and behind the line of scrimmage, where a Broncos o-lineman had to jump on it.

It wasn’t a fumble lost, and Denver still had a chance for a field goal on fourth and five, but the Broncos lost the opportunity to put a touchdown on the Raiders.

“I was real sick about it,” Gordon said. “I shot myself in the foot, and I’m a little salty. I was feeling it today.”

Gordon was by himself staring at his locker. Very much to his credit he was willing to talk with the media about his fumble. pic.twitter.com/U4zF9CY4lr

— Darren McKee (@DMacRadio) November 21, 2022

Gordon didn’t get much action after the fumble. It was his fifth fumble of the season, and it’s been a huge issue for the running back and the Broncos. Gordon finished with eight carries for 31 yards and added five catches for 39 yards. Gordon has been the de-facto No. 1 back in Denver’s revolving door system since Javonte Williams was injured in the first loss to the Raiders.

Denver didn’t end up even getting the field goal to go, as Brandon McManus’ kick as the first half expired was blocked. And the Broncos went three-and-out to start the second half.

According to ESPN, the sequence flipped the Broncos win probability from 67.5% to 52% in favor of the Raiders.

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