Before kickoff began for the Denver Broncos, the NFL paid tribute to the 19.3 million veterans and military families who according to the University of Nevada Reno, are scattered throughout the United States battling and overcoming PTSD, depression, and other mental issues. Unfortunately, for the week 10 Denver Broncos, that was just about their only highlight for the day as they took the field to take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Week 10 Denver Broncos – A Season Lost?
On a Sunday night when Denver was supposed to bounce back from losing four straight games, things quickly took a turn for the worse. In other words, rather than making plays and shutting down Brady, the Denver Broncos were forced to watch almost everything go wrong on their end, starting with the special teams. Early on in the game, for example, Isaiah McKenzie dropped a punt which resulted in the Patriots scoring their first touchdown.
The pain didn’t end there, however. Throughout the night, mistakes on special teams became a common trend for the Denver Broncos. This is what allowed the Patriots to score 24 unanswered points in the Mile High Sports Authority Stadium. Although the Broncos offense struggled (particularly in the red zone), and their defense gave up seven consecutive scoring drives to the Patriots, Sunday night’s game was all about the special teams.
“Twenty-four points, we gave up twenty-four points on special team’s alone.” rookie wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie said during a postgame interview. “I made a huge mistake, and we gave up twenty-four points.”
When asked by a reporter if he had seen a worse special team’s performance throughout his NFL career, head coach Vance Joseph replied, “I have not.”
Joseph later went on to say that everything will now be evaluated in the upcoming days: coaching, play calling, and personnel.
Special Teams Recap: In short, the Broncos had a dropped punt early on in the first quarter, had a punt blocked by the Patriots special teams, allowed a 103-yard kick return for a touchdown by Dion Lewis, and had 12 men on the field which sparked an opportunity for the Patriots to score again. Of the four mistakes, three of them led to touchdowns by the New England Patriots and the other led to a field goal.
As for McKenzie, who was named the Broncos primary punt returner during training camp, he’s found the transition to be quite difficult, as he struggled to seize opportune moments in Sunday’s game. After the first muffed punt during the first quarter, the Patriots later went on to score two plays later.
“I should have fair-caught it. The guy (Patriots defender) was right there in my face,” McKenzie said as he recapped the moment he fumbled the ball putting the Patriots right in front of the end zone. Some viewers would say that McKenzie muffed the ball due to the way the ball was kicked by Ryan Allen. But as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick noted, that wasn’t McKenzie’s first drop of the season.
The Road to Recovery
So where does Denver go from here? Well, it’s hard to say.
Von Miller told reporters that “It’s a tough deal that we’ve been dealt and it’s a tough situation, but it’s not just coaching,” despite what the media has to say. The team just has to work harder and find a way to win games.
At this point in the season, the Broncos need a leader with vision, patience, flexibility, energy, integrity, and people skills. That’s the job of a sports manager, or in this case, head coach Joseph and general manager John Elway’s job. Joseph has already shown concern for the team’s downward spiral by benching Trevor Siemian and replacing him with Brock Osweiler. However, that hasn’t seemed to work for the Broncos struggling offense. With so many things going wrong during his first year as head coach where should Joseph start?
Looking forward, Elway and Joseph will have to work together to restructure this team, but it starts now. After Sunday’s loss, the Broncos confidence level is officially gone after being exposed on every side of the ball. They can, however, use that game as an opportunity to grow and use it as a motivational factor going forward.
In the end, only time will tell what’s in store for Joseph and his Denver Broncos.
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