Quan Cosby

4 Denver fumbles, directly gave the patriots NET 14 points. The Tebow fumble was bad, the Ball fumble was worse, and the muffed extra point was just plain awful. But the only true INEXCUSABLE one was Quan Cosby's at the end of the half. And if it weren't for that boneheaded play, this game would likely have had a different outcome.Is he the sole reason why they lost, NO! of course not, it's a team game, but he sure as heck did not help.

1. Why the hell are u near the football!?!?!?! Look at the freaking clock dude. Situational awareness plays paramount when battling elite teams, and he simply did not have it yesterday. If he doesn't touch the ball, it's going to bounce probably in the endzone, and there probably won't be any time left. Even if he caught the ball, what the heck was he planning on doing with it!? I mean seriously did he think he would score a TD, and even if he did he shouldn't have tried, that's not John Fox/Broncos football to take unnecessary risks. DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB!!!

2. Those were the three most costly points of the game, it was what separated it from being a 2 and 3 score game, which in the end looked to be not that much in terms of the final score 41-23. But lets take those three points off the board for a minute and look at the rest of the game: The Patriots would have gone into the locker room with the lead at 24-16. 1 possession. They also scored first in the second half which would have made it 31-16. 2 possessions. with plenty of time left. We have all seen Denver pull out a 15 point deficit before (MIAMI), but not 18 not 3 possessions. Okay so lets assume that the score heading into the 4th reads 31-16. Denver scores in the 4th. And here is where it showed the most. IF Cosby had not tried to field that ball and the Pats don't get 3 points... IT IS A ONE POSSESSION GAME!!! with plenty of time and 8 minutes to go. 31-23 instead of what it really was which was 34-23. Now Brady very well could have marched down the field, extended the lead to two scores again, and cinched the game with a TD. But it would not have surprised me if the Denver D and the Denver crowd came up BIG and forced a punt. Giving Tebow a chance to do what he had done the previous 4 weeks, which is make a miracle happen. And does anyone doubt, that they would have marched down the field, scored and Tebow plow in for the 2 pointer I don't think so. 31-31 OT. Would they lose in OT maybe, or maybe Tebow magic would have struck again... but we will never know. But instead the Defense did not come through and the Patriots won 41-23.

3. Yes he has a cool name, but why is he still on the team? We have Royal who they put back there later, who has had several big Punt and Kickoff Returns in his career. Including one this year against the Raiders. I remember at the time when he was added, both DT and Royal were out with injury so the move made sense (with the emergence of Eric Decker at receiver it was a good idea not to risk injury with him). But now, I'd much rather have defensive help, or another running back, or Tight End, or pretty much anything. They call him a "return specialist" but I have yet to see anything special.

4. I don't like player bashing (unless its about Kyle Orton), but this kid has got to go! maybe to the practice squad, or maybe somewhere else, but I will be severely disappointed if I see him lining up to field anymore punts or kickoffs. I feel bad for him, and want him to succeed, but these games mean far too much right now, to risk having him in there. Maybe next year in pre-season we can get him some work, and maybe he can build back up a trust with the fan base and coaching staff, but right now, he can not be allowed kick/punt return duties.

So despite all of the terrible fumbles and penalties, it was the Cosby one that really cost us. 3 points seems small in a game with 64 combined points, but the Cosby fumble and the subsequent field goal, looks to me like it was the straw that broke the Broncos back.

One more thing... I want another shot at the Patriots I know we can beat them, and Denver will be a forced to be reckoned with come playoff time. They have two weeks to fix the turnovers and penalties, Denver is really close to being able to beat, "Elite" teams.

GB²