The Denver Broncos had their chances.
And in the words of the great Dennis Green, “They are what we thought they were.”
Yes, there was hope the Broncos would buck the trend of being the team that doesn’t show up in big games, but that was short-lived in their massive 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, for Denver to even sniff the playoffs it has to win out.
Per usual, I’m bound to forget someone, leave them off or put them in the wrong category, so please mention them in the comments.
Winners
Sam Martin
Whenever the punter makes the winners list, that gives you an idea of how the game went. But Martin was still fantastic. The Broncos punter had an average of 51.5 yards on six boots. Martin had two downed inside the 20-yard line and a long of 63.
Baron Browning
The Broncos rookie linebacker was all over the field. He led the team in tackles with 10, six solo.
Jonas Griffth
Thanks to the injuries to Denver’s linebackers, Griffth got his first start. He played pretty well. Griffith finished with nine tackles (eight solo), one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits.
Tim Patrick
The Broncos receiver only had three catches, but he also got the lone touchdown. That’s why he’s on the winners' list. Patrick had three catches for 42 yards, including the 25-yard touchdown.
Broncos defense
Once again, Denver’s defense did more than enough and got absolutely no help from the offense. The Broncos held Cincy to 15 points.
Losers
Vic Fangio
The clock and game management remain a glaring issue. But, hey, “death by inches.” The prevent offense at the end of the first half prevented his team from winning.
Pat Shurmur
Nothing left to say at this point.
Drew Lock
Yet another turnover from the Broncos QB with this one costing the Broncos at least three points. Lock has now appeared in 21 NFL games and turned the ball in 18 of them. As a whole, he has 25 turnovers. Yikes.
Brandon McManus
Huge miss at the end of the first half.
Denver’s pass protection
The Broncos offensive line played pretty well in the run game, but the pass protection was horrible.
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