BRONCOS

Hackett asked about message to Broncos locker room after painful loss

Dec 4, 2022, 2:40 PM

It’s getting hard to find different ways to describe the same Broncos games.

After leading the Ravens nearly the entire way in Baltimore on Sunday, Denver gave up an excruciating 16-play drive that covered 91 yards in the final five minutes to lose, 10-9. QB Russell Wilson actually got the Broncos in position to try a 63-yard Brandon McManus field goal at the buzzer, but the kick came up short.

Now with a 3-9 record and yet another brutal loss on his resume, head coach Nathaniel Hackett was asked postgame about his message to the Denver locker room.

“We’ve got to finish. Guys know that. You can’t play a great game the whole game, and not all the way down to the last second. We just have to find a way to finish these games. They’ve been all so close. I give so much credit to our football team for battling, non-stop, throughout the whole game,” Hackett said.

It could be one of his final messages to the team, as the clock has to be ticking and maybe expiring on the Hackett era. He hasn’t won a game in the United States since September. The Broncos have lost eight of nine after a 2-1 start. This season is beyond hopeless. Still, Denver battled on Sunday. And Hackett gave them props for their effort.

“Everybody’s trying to do everything they can to win, so I give them credit for that. But it hurts to lose, especially that way, and we’ve got to find a way to win these things,” Hackett said.

Again, “we” could be “them” for Hackett sooner rather than later, as it’s unclear how much longer he’ll lead this team. If this one was it for the head coach, it was perfectly fitting that’s the way Denver lost.

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