Trailing the Raiders 14-3 in the third quarter of Monday’s game in Oakland, Broncos quarterback found wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton in the end zone for what should have been a touchdown.
A touchdown would have made the score 14-10 and perhaps changed the outcome of the game. Hamilton dropped the pass, though, and Denver went on to lose 24-16 after settling for three field goals on the night.
Broncos players and coaches supported Hamilton after the loss.
“That’s a difference of four points right there,” coach Vic Fangio said. “He knows he should make it, nobody feels worse about it than he does, and he’ll make the next one.”
Quarterback Joe Flacco was especially supportive of the 24-year-old receiver.
“Listen, DaeSean is a really good wide receiver, and he’s going to have an awesome year,” Flacco said. “He’s going to be a really great, reliant receiver in this league. I know how he feels about it, but we’re a team and those things happen. That’s not why we lost the game.
“I have all the faith in DaeSean to do the right thing and catch the football, so I’m going to be on his side to help him bounce back and get ready for a greater week.”
Hamilton caught 30 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns last season and he could have an even larger role this year if Tim Patrick misses time with a left hand injury. He knows that his drop was unacceptable.
“That’s hard, especially when we were struggling in the red zone and we don’t get any momentum at all in that game,” Hamilton told The Denver Post‘s Kyle Fredrickson after the loss. “I told somebody earlier, ‘No doubt in my mind I catch that and we win the game.’ The momentum is different, the whole vibe of the game goes differently and that was the spark we needed.”
Like the entire team, Hamilton is focusing on moving forward.
“That’s a play that I know I should make and I’ll make 99 times out of 100.”
