Mile High Report
Going into this game, I postulated keys to the game for both the offense and defense. The Broncos, by my count, hit one out of three on both sides of the ball. Their failure to execute at a high level, coupled with the loss of Bo Nix, meant their eventual downfall.
I was sniffing hopium along with the rest of Broncos Country in the week leading up to this game. We were hyped about Stidham. We believed in this team. We ate up the optimism being spouted by Sean Payton like it was sweet candy.
But a perfect storm was brewing that would end the Broncos’ season. Literally, there was a 2nd half full of snow. Sean Payton’s aggressive tendencies led to the worst and most impactful play of the game. Jarrett Stidham made a huge turnover that handed the Pats a touchdown (because they sure as hell couldn’t get one of their own accord against our defense). Wil Lutz missed probably the highest difficulty kick you could expect a kicker to attempt in the NFL.
The clock hit zero, and the season is over.
There were two different offensive games played on Sunday. The first half was a regular football game. The second half was a snowstorm that made throwing the ball successfully nigh impossible.
From what I saw, I loved the play calling and game plan Sean Payton had for the offense being run by Jarrett Stidham. I think if that snow doesn’t start falling, we win that game easily.
The biggest problem on offense was Sean Payton going for it on 4th and 1. This is the playoffs. Take your 3 points. Momentum matters more in playoff games than it does in the regular season. Letting the opponents get a positive swing because you failed is bad. Your offense having a negative swing because they failed is also bad. Some players can handle this with no problem, but I guarantee you it impacted players on this roster who were on the field. It is just human nature, and I feel like a head coach with decades more experience with this game than I should understand this basic concept at a far deeper level.
The 2nd biggest problem was going for it and getting fancy with a pass play against a defense that loves to bring pressure. The Pats had that play buried from the second the ball was snapped. At least with a run play, there’s a fighting chance that your back can just muscle out the yardage, or your linemen can win the battles and create a big gap.
In the 2nd half, there’s not much to write other than that our offense has sorely lacked any capability to run the ball since JK Dobbins was injured. Even with him healthy, it wasn’t all roses. On Sunday, when the snow started falling, our offense screeched to an incompetent halt because they didn’t have any good options. We’ll discuss this more as the offseason wears...
