It’s far from the start the Denver Broncos or Broncos Country was anticipating, but the team is 0-2 after two ugly losses to begin the season. It’s the team’s first 0-2 start since 1999, the year after John Elway retired.
The Broncos have created quite the hole to dig out of with a trip to Lambeau Field looming and Vic Fangio and his group will have to turn things around quickly before this becomes a lost season.
The Broncos seemed to have stolen a victory in this one after a late touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion gave them a 14-13 lead with just 31 seconds to go.
Mitchell Trubisky, who threw for just 120 yards on the day, completed a 25-yard pass to Allen Robinson on 4th-and-15 to set up the game-winning field goal. It was a stunning ending to an otherwise mundane game.
Here is what we took away from it:
1. Two terrible calls decided the game in the end
It’s easy to blame officiating and it’s usually a poor excuse, but on the Bears’ final drive, there were two incredibly bad calls.
First, the officials have long made it clear that they are going to protect the quarterback, but a roughing the passer call against Bradley Chubb was so bad that it makes one wonder if you should hit the quarterback at all. Chubb wasn’t late on the hit, he wasn’t overly aggressive and there was simply no foul.
A flag was still thrown, giving the Bears 15 yards and a fresh set of downs.
On the fourth-down play, Trubisky completed the pass to Robinson but when he hit the ground after being tackled, the clock showed 0:00 remaining. There is no debate. You will find no evidence of the Bears calling a time out before the clock expired because it would have been impossible for them to do so.
Still, one second was placed back on the clock and the Bears had enough time to kick the game-winning field goal.
2. Vic Fangio’s guts to go for two was a positive
After scoring a touchdown with 31 seconds remaining to cut the Bears lead to one, Fangio decided to go for two and the win rather than to kick the extra point and play for overtime.
Though the decision ultimately didn’t pay off, Broncos fans should be happy about the guts of their head coach. For quite some time, fans have wanted to see a more aggressive approach from the Broncos and though this is always a gamble, and most coaches would rather play it safe, Fangio going for the win was nice to see.
3. Garett Bolles is a liability
The Broncos have a problem at left tackle and it’s a big one, mainly because they don’t have another good option.
Bolles has struggled almost from the time he stepped on the field in a Broncos uniform and his struggles are mostly related to drawing too many penalties.
Bolles was called for holding four times in the game and one of those penalties erased a nice 20-yard run by Phillip Lindsay.
Bolles has been a penalty machine since coming into the league and it doesn’t seem like something that will magically correct itself.
4. This could be a long year in Denver
After two miserable seasons under Vance Joseph, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. This was supposed to be a year of redemption for Denver, but that is starting to look unlikely.
Yes, it’s only been two games, but we should drop the excuses. This isn’t a good team. The offense is inept and the defense, which is supposed to be one of the league’s strongest, has been average at best.
The Broncos could be in for another tough season that fans have to find a way to get through. Having to play in Green Bay next week leaves the team with a very real possibility of an 0-3 start.
Not many teams come back from that.
