The Denver Broncos’ Week 2 loss to the Indianapolis Colts was a tough one to swallow. This was particularly true after Colts kicker Spencer Shrader missed a 60-yard attempt as time expired, only for the Broncos to commit a leveraging penalty that led to Shrader successfully kicking a 45-yard attempt.
However, while one can debate the alignment called by the coaches or the referees being inconsistent with how they call the leveraging penalty, the truth is the game didn’t have to come down to those final plays.
The Broncos took a 28-20 lead after scoring on the opening drive of the third quarter, then failed to score on any of their remaining offensive drives. And in some instances, the Broncos failed to execute or made crucial mistakes.
Case in point was early in the fourth quarter after Denver’s defense stopped the Colts on a fourth-down attempt at midfield. The Broncos got the ball to the Colts’ 28-yard line, but on third down with three yards to go, Bo Nix was under pressure and attempted a throw downfield, hoping to hit Courtland Sutton, but the ball was instead intercepted.
To be fair to Nix, the play call appeared to be for a short pass, but with a defender in his face, he couldn’t risk the short pass without the defender tipping the ball, and it possibly being picked off. That’s when he needed to simply throw the ball away toward the sidelines.
If Nix had done that, the Broncos would likely settle for a field goal, but it would have put the Broncos up by eight at that point if successful.
On the Colts’ ensuing drive, the Broncos gave up a 68-yard run to Jonathan Taylor. The Broncos were fortunate he didn’t score a touchdown on that run.
Giving up the big play was an issue for the Broncos’ defense on Sunday. That’s something that has to be corrected. Getting a healthy Dre Greenlaw in the lineup will help, but that won’t be enough by itself.
The Colts got a field goal to punctuate the drive that was dominated by Taylor’s big-play ability.
Then came two penalties on the Broncos’ next offensive drive. The Broncos got the ball to the Colts’ 20-yard line, but had a five-yard delay of game penalty, then an offensive facemask penalty on tight end Adam Trautman that pushed the offense back 15 yards more.
Were it not for those costly penalties, the Broncos have better field position and might have had more options for offensive plays. If they have to settle for a field goal, it’s likely a shorter attempt.
At the end of that penalty-laden drive, Wil Lutz missed a 42-yard field goal in a dome. Hitting that field goal would have required the Colts to drive the entire field to win, instead of getting into field goal range.
All these mistakes came before the Colts lined up for the game-winning field goal. Eliminate those mistakes and we could very well be talking about a hard-fought Broncos win rather than a frustrating loss.
Simply put, the Broncos have to learn to close the deal when they lead in the fourth quarter, particularly against quality teams. And this year’s Colts team is a quality team — their offense is better than expected, and while the defense is vulnerable, it will capitalize on opponent mistakes.
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The Broncos will have another tough task as they face the Los Angeles Chargers on the road in Week 3. Let’s hope that, if the Broncos do manage a lead going into the fourth quarter, they avoid too many mistakes that lead to a loss.
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