Broncos report card: A late offensive heroic and the scent of takeaways mask a reprehensible underlying performance.
The heroics from Russell Wilson and Courtland Sutton saved what was otherwise going to be a failing grade. Among Denver’s first 11 third-down attempts, 10 were missed. Before Sutton’s 15-yard scoring grab, the play in the red zone
was unsuccessful four times in a row. Javonte Williams’ 15-yard touchdown run accounted for nearly one-third of the Broncos’ 46 yards of total yardage on 15 rush attempts. Ultimately, all that frustration ished away by the 10 plays, 75 yards, and game-winning touchdown, but this is the unit that needs to improve the most if Denver is to actually make a postseason run.
Similar to the offensive heroics, the Broncos’ defense is somewhat concealed by another night full of takeaways. Three were obtained by them in the shape of an interception and two fumble recoveries. In the last 63 seconds, when Minnesota only needed a field goal to win the game, they made a crucial stop. However, in the interim, they conceded 175 rushing yards (following 192 yards in Buffalo the previous week), nine conversions (six on third down, three on fourth down), and an excessive amount of open-field tackle failures. However, Denver forced a field goal in the fourth quarter after Minnesota had a first-and-10 at the Broncos’ 12-yard line, recovered from an interception, and then forced a close-out turnover on downs. It’s how you come to an end.
Naturally, Wil Lutz receives an A-grade. The Broncos field goal specialist delivered a spectacular performance, making all five of his field goals, including a 52-yarder to end the first half. He had no nails. Like last week when he missed a 41-yard field goal against Buffalo but still managed to hit a walk-off 36-yarder on a mulligan, that’s a crucial component of the outcome. However, it was almost all for nothing when the Vikings tricked Denver’s return team with a fake punt in the fourth quarter, which resulted in a 31-yard Ty Chandler run on a fourth-and-4 play. Minnesota deserves praise for making a brave decision, and Denver’s defense came together to keep the Vikings to a field goal, but the Broncos were caught off guard and the cost could have been much higher.The biggest call of the night came for head coach Sean Payton with 2:27 left. The Broncos faced a fourth-and-3 at the outset of their game-winning drive and Payton could have decided to punt. He had the two-minute warning and all three of his timeouts
. But given the way the Vikings had run the ball, he kept his offense on the field and it paid off. Wilson hit Sutton for 13 yards through a defensive pass interference penalty and Denver was off and running. Still, though, there’s a lot toclean up. An illegal formation on third-and-1 in the red zone was a killer. Denver still can’t generate a productive drive to open the third quarter. Better to be correcting that stuff, of course, in the midst of a four-game winning streak.
