Why the Broncos' loss to the Ravens was especially disappointing
The Denver Broncos let one get away on Sunday. And it was especially disappointing. Denver lost a heartbreaker 10-9 to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon. It was a game the Broncos should've won. And they should've had a better chance for a game-winning field goal. But once again, poor game-day coaching led to a […]
The Denver Broncos let one get away on Sunday.
And it was especially disappointing.
Denver lost a heartbreaker 10-9 to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon. It was a game the Broncos should've won. And they should've had a better chance for a game-winning field goal. But once again, poor game-day coaching led to a loss for Denver.
The Broncos attempted a Brandon McManus63-yard field goal — which fell short — as time expired.
If the game had been managed properly, Denver would've had a much closer field goal attempt.
The Ravens went on a 16-play drive on the next-to-last drive of the game. That drive resulted in a touchdown which put Baltimore up by one point.
Denver called zero timeouts on that drive, even though they knew that time would be valuable as they'd only need a field goal to win the game if Baltimore scored a touchdown.
Instead of using their two remaining timeouts (they used one earlier in the second half when the clock was stopped to avoid a delay of game), they waited until after the Ravens scored and there were just 23 seconds remaining in the game.
If the Broncos had used those two timeouts, they likely would've had another minute of time left on the clock on their final drive. They wouldn't have had any timeouts left, but they would've had a lot more time on the clock to work with. And their odds of getting into a better position for a field goal would've been greater.
This is just another example of awful gameday management by the Denver coaching staff. And it's more disappointing than it was earlier in this season because this is week 13. These same issues shouldn't still be happening.
There's no way Nathaniel Hackett can return in 2023. This entire season has been a disaster and there's no sign of improvement on the horizon. Sunday showed fans all they need to see. It's time for Hackett to go.
Featured image via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
