Broncos Country is blaming the wrong Super Bowl MVP

Not sure if any of you have heard, but The Broncos are 0-3 and have zero sacks and zero turnovers. As a result, Von Miller and the defense’s lack of production has been catching a lot of heat.

Fans and media are so disgusted with the defense that apparently we need to trade Von Miller. That’s right, people want to trade one of the all-time great Broncos because he has had a rough three games.

Zero Sacks. Zero Turnovers. First team to do that since the sack became a stat.

One person in this organization should be happy about this “blame the defense” narrative and that is Joe Flacco. Flacco should be super excited because it is covering up the fact that not one player on this team has made more crucial mistakes than he has. And no one is talking about it.

In the last two games, Flacco has thrown two interceptions and fumbled once, with all coming at potential momentum-changing moments. The three turnovers committed by Flacco came at times where the Broncos were in position to tie the game or take the lead. All three times Flacco blew the opportunity by showing a complete lack of awareness.

Against The Bears, while trailing 13-6 with under five minutes to play, Flacco threw a red-zone interception. A touchdown would have tied the game. The Bears defense was wearing down and Flacco didn’t take advantage.

Last week while taking on the Packers, with a little more than two minutes left in the second quarter, the Broncos had the ball deep in their own territory, but were tied 10-10 with the opportunity to steal the lead before halftime.

Elijah Wilkenson gets his doors blown off by Preston Smith and Flacco is stripped sacked inside his own 10-yard line. The Packers would score two plays later.

The constant pressure was not Flacco’s fault. The inability to protect the ball in a very vulnerable situation is his responsibility and failing to hold onto the ball is on him. The Broncos quickly went from a tie game to being down 24-10 after a fumble by Noah Fant gave the Packers great field position again.

In the third quarter against the Packers, down 24-16, Flacco and the offense were given the opportunity to once again to tie the game. Instead, Flacco goes full Neil O’Donnell in Super Bowl XXX and throws an inexplicable interception directly to Darnall Savage.

I was shocked. I think Savage was too. There were no Broncos in the vicinity of the ball. I don’t care about scheme or who broke the route tree, Flacco should’ve seen it and never thrown that ball. I have no clue what he was thinking.

The Broncos offense has shown signs that it isn’t the inept, boring, incapable squad we’ve since 2016. At times, it has looked as if the identity of the team may swing back to the offense. In the end, this all goes up in smoke with horribly timed turnovers by the starting quarterback.

Is Joe Flacco elite or just a game manager? Is a question that’s been asked since Flacco came in the league. As of right now, Flacco is neither.

An elite quarterback would convert third-and-goal for a touchdown. Game managers simply don’t turn the ball over at crucial times. Flacco has failed his team on both accounts.

The especially frustrating aspect is that these turnovers came moments after Broncos Country is given reason to be excited.

Prior to the Fuller interception in the Chicago game, Flacco put together a fantastic 16-play drive. He connected with Courtland Sutton and Phillip Lindsay to convert third and fourth downs. Then, the interception happened and it was all for nothing.

Against the Packers, the Broncos battled back from an early Aaron Rodgers onslaught and tied the game 10-10 only to watch the momentum be fumbled away. Later on in the same Packers game, Flacco hit Sutton for 41 yards on a big third-down conversion. This ended up not mattering because two plays later Flacco decided Savage needed an early Christmas present and threw the back-breaking interception.

Yes, Flacco rallied the team for a touchdown and two-point conversion that gave the Broncos a lead late in the Bears game. He deserves credit for that moment. However, had he not thrown a red-zone interception on the previous drive, the Bears may have needed more than just a last-second field goal to win at the final gun.

I’m puzzled as to why Flacco seems to be getting a pass from everybody over these inexcusable turnovers. Case Keenum doesn’t even play in Denver anymore, yet we still can’t shut up about him overthrowing Demaryius Thomas on “Monday Night Football.”

Instead of building off the great things the Broncos offense accomplishes, Flacco erases them. And yet, we all blame Von Miller for the team’s 0-3 start.