DENVER — Had the BroncosIt was a miracle! A fourth down was converted in the last seconds of the second half against the odds. Jets and then driving for an eventual game-tying touchdown, there wouldn’t have been many left to bear witness.
The Broncos lost their fourth straight, 16-9, game after showing apathy and anger in an offensive performance that was not up to par. Despite the Broncos not trailing by more that one touchdown against a Jets team with a 5-2 record, fans at Empower Field in Mile High started to leave early in the fourth period. The day’s loudest cheers were reserved for the halftime ceremony honoring the 25th anniversary of the franchise’s First Super Bowl champion team. Even the boos — roared at the team at full throat amid poor offensive outings early in the season against the Texans, 49ers Colts — were bereft of vitriol Sunday, rarely strong enough to cut through the whirling wind.
You can’t watch the same reruns enough times to get an emotional reaction.
“I’m sick of being up here saying the same thing over and over again,” first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “The opportunities are there. We have to seize them at some point. There’s no excuses. We’ve been in every single game, and we have to win these games.”
For the second consecutive season, the Broncos have failed to score double-digits points. They’ve accomplished the lowly feat with a nine-time Pro Bowler at quarterback in Russell Wilson, and they’ve notched it behind an undrafted backup in Brett RypienWilson was forced to sit out with a hamstring strain, so Rypien took the wheel of the car-with no-engine Sunday. Rypien’s fourth-and-10 incompletion to KJ Hamler with less than 30 seconds left sealed the loss.
The Broncos have scored 100 points this season after including a safety by their defense in Week 3. This is the most they have scored in this season’s seven games since the merger of the AFL and NFL in 1970. The only team in the franchise’s 63-season history that scored fewer points through seven games was the 1966 AFL unit, whose starting quarterback, John McCormick, completed a whopping 35.2 percent of his 193 pass attempts.
At this point, it has become a fruitless exercise to delve deep into the horror show that is the Broncos’ offensive output.
You don’t need to know that Denver has played seven games and scored more than one touchdown in only one of them to understand that the unit is inept. We don’t have to mention that Denver has scored three offensive points in third quarters this year — the fewest of any team, in any quarter, in the NFL — to uncover why the Broncos lose the close games they continue to play. You don’t have to be told that the Broncos have held their opponents under 20 points in six of seven games this season to know why the Broncos are fortunate to even be 2-5, the mountain of expectations that accompanied the start of this season all but reduced to pebbles.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton went out of his way to point out the performance of a defense that has limited opponents to eight total touchdowns, the same number scored by Denver’s offense, and has given its counterparts “many chances to go out and put points on the board.”
“The defense is playing their butts off,” said Sutton, who had three catches for 23 yards Sunday. “It’s on us to complete that part of the team. It’s on us as an offense to figure out a way to gel with them so it becomes a 50-50 effort in leading toward these wins. They are appreciated, dudes. It doesn’t go unnoticed. It doesn’t go unappreciated. Nobody is as frustrated as we are that we aren’t putting up more points.”
Sauce Gardner, Jets cornerback helped Courtland Sutton limit his Sunday catch count to three for 23 yards on nine targets. (Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)
Sutton is a veteran of the league and has seen the division that can arise when one team outperforms the other. He recognizes the strain his group’s persistent inability to cross into the end zone is putting on his teammates on the other side of the ball, who are faced with a stark reality: Anything short of utter perfection won’t be good enough.
The Jets devised a perfect outside sweep play for Sunday’s first quarter. Breece HallThe rookie sprinted through the hole for a touchdown of 62 yards. Even though it was only one score in the first half, it felt like it could not be overcome. Although the Broncos led at the end, it was not enough. Six consecutive third downs is a bad thing. The Broncos didn’t score in the second half, their best chance to tie the game evaporating on a fourth-and-3 incompletion at the Jets’ 25-yard line late in the fourth quarter.
“I’m just sick of being ‘Right there,’” defensive tackle Mike Purcell said. “We keep saying, ‘You know, we’re right there, it’s gonna turn around, it’s gonna turn around.’ But to be honest, f— that. We’ve gotta turn it around. I feel people are just waiting for it to turn around.”
THERE IS A MAN.@BreeceHIt’s only 62 yards from the crib!!#NYJvsDENCBS pic.twitter.com/CbTJxGpRch
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 23, 2022
Sunday’s circumstances were not ideal for the Broncos. Wilson suffered his hamstring injury in the fourth quarter of Monday’s overtime loss to the ChargersHackett was limited to participating in practice for the entire week. Hackett on Friday afternoon termed the veteran quarterback, who had missed only three games in his career before Sunday, a “game-time decision.” But after consulting with Wilson and general manager George Paton later Friday and again Saturday morning, Hackett decided to sit Wilson and give the team’s franchise quarterback another week to heal his injury.
“He did everything he could to try to be there, but it was just a little early with that short week,” Hackett said of Wilson, adding that the veteran is “trending” toward being able to play against the JaguarsNext week in London
Perhaps Wilson could have delivered the second-half spark the Broncos didn’t have Sunday. Rypien finished 24-of-46 yards for 215 yards and a costly interception in the third quarter with 96 yards (on seven catch) going to Jerry Jeudy. However, the Broncos were unable to convert their final seven third-down efforts. Instead, they punted six more times and averaged 3.8 yard per carry. Brandon McManus missed a 56-yard field goal in the second quarter — kicking it was a questionable decision given the windy conditions — and also pushed the point-after attempt wide right following Denver’s lone touchdown, a two-yard Latavius MurrayRun in the first quarter.
The Broncos are not afraid to make mistakes. That’s a tough way to live in the NFL.
Hackett’s job security will remain a talking point for the rest of the season barring an unforeseen turnaround. Hackett was hired largely for his offensive ability and has been the architect behind a historically poor attack. The Broncos game in London will be followed by the bye week. This could lead to staff changes, or at the very least, reassignment of responsibilities.
Hackett was asked after Sunday’s loss whether he would be open to passing his play-calling duties off to someone else.
“I think we’ll always look at everything,” he said. “I always look at myself, first and foremost. If there’s something that we all agree that I might hold the team back or anything like that, sure. I don’t think that’s the case. There are many plays that can be played there. We’ve been in and out the huddle. Communication has been excellent. But we’ll look at everything. We’ll always look at everything to try to improve and help this offense.”
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There could be changes in trades. After trading for Wilson and handing him a $245 million extension, they face an upcoming NFL Draft in April with little capital — five picks, none in the first or second round — and a salary-cap sheet that, while still healthy, will force tougher decisions to be made in upcoming seasons when it comes to potential extensions and free-agency spending. Considering they’ve played like one of the NFL’s worst teams, it all fits the profile of a seller.
Two players could be pivotal in recouping some capital: Jeudy, who displayed flashes Sunday that he is still coveted by John Elway as a 2020 first-rounder; and Bradley ChubbAnother former first-round pick is also on the rise, with 5 1/2 sacks and is currently playing on his final year of his rookie deal. Both players are key contributors to what the Broncos are doing in 2022, but the front office has to be asking hard questions about where it’s all going — not only in 2022, which appears all but lost before the calendar has reached November, but beyond.
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The Broncos are going to be building around Wilson. They must get their franchise quarterback well, let him continue to build chemistry with some weapons (rookie tightend Greg Dulich is a potential key piece) as well as try to eliminate the negative culture that permeates the franchise. There are no easy exit ramps, but Rob Walton and Greg Penner, whose group bought this team for $4.65 billion just months ago, surely took note of the blue dots that signified empty seats in the second half of Sunday’s game.
While they may have believed that they were purchasing a ready-made product there are many foundational repairs needed.
(Top photo: Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)
