The Broncos fail to learn any lessons from last week’s comeback win
Nov 9, 2020, 6:24 AM
Sometimes, sports teams stumble into good ideas. They find themselves in a desperate situation, which leads to outside-the-box inspiration that transforms the franchise.
The Buffalo Bills weren’t looking to permanently run a hurry-up, no-huddle offense back in the 1990s. But after watching quarterback Jim Kelly pick apart opposing defenses late in games on a weekly basis, Marv Levy had a revelation. Why not let the future Hall of Fame quarterback run that offense all of the time, putting to use weapons like Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and James Lofton?
The Golden State Warriors didn’t set out to revolutionize the NBA. But after losing big man David Lee in Game 1 of a first-round series against the Nuggets in 2012, head coach Mark Jackson didn’t have a lot of options. So he went with a small lineup, a move that not only helped his team upset Denver in six games, but jumpstarted a dynasty, as the Warriors would go on to play in five-straight NBA Finals and win three titles using the strategy that Jackson found.
The Oakland A’s didn’t set out to change the way rosters were built, not only in Major League Baseball, but in all professional sports. But after their team was stripped of stars who were able to get bigger contracts from richer teams, Billy Beane had to figure out a way to find cheaper, undervalued players. The result, which would become known as “Moneyball,” transformed pro sports, using statistics and analytics to evaluate players, rather than just scouts.
These are extremely examples. Smaller ones happen on a weekly basis, at every level of every game.
There was hope that the Broncos would be the latest example. After last week’s stirring, come-from-behind win over the Chargers, there was the possibility that Denver learned something from their fourth-quarter success and would implement those lessons moving forward.
On Sunday, it became clear that those thoughts were wishful thinking. Clearly, the Broncos didn’t learn a thing.
Against Los Angeles, Denver found success by turning Drew Lock loose. Instead of asking the quarterback to hand the ball off on first and second downs, which repeatedly put the offense in bad down-and-distance situations, and then throw the ball underneath on third down, in order to avoid a big mistake, the Broncos let Lock chuck it all over the yard.
Trailing by as much as 24-3 in the second half, Denver didn’t have much of a choice. Well on their way to a loss, they had nothing to lose by giving their quarterback some freedom.
The result is well documented. In the fourth quarter against the Chargers, Lock completed 14 of 18 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns. As a result, he led the Broncos to an unlikely 31-30 victory, throwing the game-winning score on the final play of the game.
Pat Shurmur should’ve seen this success and had a burst of inspiration. Denver’s offensive coordinator should’ve realized that Lock is more comfortable in an offense similar to what he ran in college, going up tempo, out of shotgun and throwing the ball down the field.
But he didn’t. Instead, the Broncos came out on Sunday against the Falcons running the same conservative offense that they’ve run all season.
Not surprisingly, the results were not good. Denver’s offense was once again anemic, as the Broncos fell into another 21-point, second-half hole.
Once they were down 27-6, Shurmur finally loosed the reins, letting Lock get back to doing what he does well. And once again, it worked.
In the second half against Atlanta, Lock completed 18 of 34 passes for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns. Admittedly, a lot of these numbers were compiled in garbage time, against a semi-prevent defense, but the difference was still jarring.
It wasn’t just Shurmur who was slow on the uptake, however. Denver made a similar mistake on defense.
Last week, Justin Herbert picked them apart through the first two-and-a-half quarters of the game. He was comfortable in the pocket, allowing the rookie quarterback to complete passes at will.
Then, Vic Fangio decided to apply some pressure. Needing to force the issue, the Broncos head coach dialed up some blitzes, leading to a turnover and a pair of drives that stalled for field goals, allowing Denver to stay in the game.
Did Fangio apply that lesson on Sunday against the Falcons? Nope.
In the first half, the Broncos largely played the same passive, bend-but-don’t-break defense that has become the trademark of Fangio’s teams in Denver. Not surprisingly, Matt Ryan picked them apart.
Atlanta didn’t punt in the first half, building a 20-3 lead. After intermission, the trend continued, as the Falcons moved ahead 27-6.
Then, Fangio finally dialed up some pressure. The only score Ryan put on the board came after a Lock interceptions, when Atlanta only need to move 12 yards to get in the end zone.
Once again, this kept the Broncos in the game, as Denver got the ball back, down just one score, late in the game. The aggressive approach worked.
This time around, however, it was too little too late. By the time Fangio and Shurmur abandoned their old-school, established ways, their team was in too big of a hole. The Broncos ran out of time, eventually falling 34-27.
The loss drops Denver to 3-5, putting them on pace for another 10-loss season. And it highlights their biggest problem.
Yes, the Broncos are decimated by injuries. And admittedly, they’ve had disheveled weeks of preparation recently due to COVID-19 protocols. But that’s not why they’re struggling.
Denver has plenty of talent, on both sides of the ball. It’s just not being used properly.
Fangio and his staff continue to try to force square pegs into round holes. They keep doing what they like to do, rather than what their players are good at executing.
The last two weeks have made this fact perfectly clear. It’s plain as day.
The Broncos didn’t learn the lesson after last week’s win. Perhaps they will after Sunday’s loss.
If they do, Denver has a chance to salvage their season. If they don’t, it’ll be another disappointing campaign in the Mile High City.
