Broncos kicker Wil Lutz says ‘one kick doesn’t define me’ after costly miss

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz had a big miss on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

It wasn’t the sole reason for the 29-28 loss, but it was a big part of it.

With the Broncos up 28-26 and 3:19 left on the clock, Lutz trotted out for a 42-yard field goal. It’s one an NFL kicker simply has to make.

He didn’t, doinking it off the upright, and giving the ball back to the Colts.

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The Denver offense never touched the football again, and after being gifted a second chance, Indy walked off the Broncos at the buzzer with a 45-yard boot and one-point victory.

It was a heartbreaking loss to drop Denver to 1-1 on the season in a game they needed to have.

After the game, Wil Lutz spoke to the media, but was fairly brief in his comments. To his credit, Lutz faced the microphones.

“Our number is called on fourth-down, the ball didn’t go in, so got to be better,” Lutz said.

Asked how big of a deal the missed field goal and loss were, Lutz knows it’s still early in the season. However, hopefully this game doesn’t haunt the Broncos for playoff positioning down the road.

“One kick doesn’t define me, one game doesn’t define this team, so we know what we have in this locker room and come back next week,” Lutz said. “I’ve missed some. That’s part of this industry, learn from it and move on.”

The Broncos better learn from this. Not just Lutz, but the defense having a bad day, QB Bo Nix throwing an interception late and an inexcusable penalty to give the Colts two chances at winning it.

It’s hard to stomach, there’s no other way to slice it. And in the future Wil Lutz needs to drill 42-yard field goals.

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