{"id":135787,"date":"2022-10-04T01:40:35","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T05:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=135787"},"modified":"2022-10-23T05:25:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T09:25:00","slug":"the-third-quarter-letdown-that-cost-the-denver-broncos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/10\/04\/the-third-quarter-letdown-that-cost-the-denver-broncos\/","title":{"rendered":"The Third Quarter Letdown That Cost the Denver Broncos"},"content":{"rendered":"

The third quarter was a disaster for the Denver Broncos<\/a> on Sunday. On the very first play of scrimmage of the second half, Broncos starting running back,\u00a0 Javonte Williams<\/a> suffered what we would later find out to be a torn ACL and LCL. This was just the start of what has been one of the worst third quarters in recent franchise memory as anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Here are all the things that went wrong for the Broncos in the third-quarter letdown against the Raiders in their 32-23 Week 4 loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/strong>: Russell Wilson Cooks Against Las Vegas<\/a><\/p>\n

The Third Quarter Letdown That Cost the Denver Broncos<\/span><\/h2>\n

Javonte Williams\u2019 Injury<\/h3>\n

The injury to Williams was the most newsworthy happening of not only the third quarter but the game. After much speculation during the game, it was\u00a0<\/span>revealed<\/span><\/a> on Monday that Williams had torn his MCL, and LCL, and will be out the rest of the season. The injury to Williams is devastating for the Broncos, as it seems that Denver has been bitten by the injury bug in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Williams had been sharing carries with Melvin Gordon, Williams has emerged as the primary ball carrier for the Broncos. Williams finished the season with 204 yards on 47 attempts which averaged 4.3 yards a carry. This injury kicked off a hellacious third quarter for the Broncos.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not that the timing is ever great on injuries, but considering the egregious, game-turning sco0p-and-score fumble from Gordon that occurred right before halftime, it makes the injury even more impactful. This was compounded by the sense of Gordon being benched permanently for his massive mistake made it feel as though the Broncos lost two running backs in one matter of minutes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Melvin Gordon Problem<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Melvin Gordon<\/a> has now become a meme amongst Broncos circles. Gordon is associated with having a fumbling problem in Denver. And not only a fumble problem, but a fumbling problem that comes at the most inopportune times. The stats are staggering. According to Bill Barnwell, no ball carrier has fumbled more than Gordon over the last four years.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nobody has more fumbles as a ballcarrier or receiver over the last four years than Melvin Gordon.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) October 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Broncos beat writer Andres Mason also had a couple of stats that put Gordon\u2019s fumbling issues into perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Melvin Gordon has 5 fumbles in his last 44 touches dating back to the final game of the 2021 season. Three of those fumbles lost, two returned for touchdowns. That\u2019s one fumble every 8.8 touches.<\/p>\n

Prior to that, he averaged 1 fumble every 88 touches.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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That is the third time a Melvin Gordon fumble has been returned for a touchdown in the last 12 games.<\/p>\n

It is his fifth fumble in his last five games dating back to last year.<\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t matter what he can do in pass pro, you cannot play a guy who\u2019s fumbling at such an extreme rate.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the post-game press conference, Gordon was visibly shaken up. He\u00a0<\/span>left abruptly after Mason<\/span><\/a>\u00a0asked him about his conscious work on ball security during practice. Entering the season, Gordon was resigned to Denver<\/a> to give Williams help with the load at running back. This was considered essential because of the way Williams runs. Splitting the carries would prolong Williams\u2019 career. Now that Williams is out and Gordon seems to be in the dog house, the coaching staff’s confidence in him has to be established early. He only had one carry in the third quarter, as Mike Boone took the majority of the load as the game went on.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Broncos signed veteran\u00a0<\/span>Latavius Murray<\/span><\/a>\u00a0off the Saint\u2019s practice squad, now that Williams is out, Gordon will have to play a big part in the rest of the reason. Whether that means RB1 or RB2 is yet to be determined, as Mike Boone is also an option for the Broncos.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Offense Reverted to Its Old Self<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After having the undisputedly best half the Broncos offense had seen in four games thus far, Denver then played a horrendous third quarter that saw them never fully recover from the Gordon fumble. The turnovers robbed Denver of momentum as the second quarter closed out. There was a complete contrast in styles in the first half compared to the third quarter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russell Wilson was cooking in the first half. Wilson went 11\/12 with 149 yards (which averaged 12.4 yards per reception) and had two touchdown throws. One went to Jerry Jeudy and the other to Courland Sutton.<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, this is how the\u00a0<\/span>third quarter<\/span><\/a> went for the Broncos offense:<\/span><\/p>\n