The Denver Broncos lost to the Seattle Seahawks 17-16 in Week 1 after rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett made a questionable decision late in the game that drew criticism from fans and pundits (including Peyton Manning).
After the game, running back Melvin Gordon said the Broncos were better than the Seahawks, but Denver’s own mistakes cost them the game.
“We definitely beat ourselves,” Gordon said. “We got in the red zone multiple times. Couldn’t convert. Don’t mind going for it on fourth. We’re supposed to get the job done. We’re not worried. We’ll have our heads down for a couple of hours because we’re competitors and we hate losing. We know we shot ourselves in the foot.”
Remarks like that after a loss came come across as poor sportsmanship, but Gordon’s overall point is fair.
Denver had more rushing yards (103) than Seattle (76) and the Broncos had more passing yards (330) than the Seahawks (177), but the team’s self-inflicted mistakes ultimately cost them the game.
The Broncos fumbled at the goal line and lost the ball on two occasions, costing them 14 more points. Later, Denver had a would-be touchdown negated by a pre-snap penalty, costing the team four more points.
The Broncos were not able to overcome their silly penalties and turnovers in Seattle, but those are correctable mistakes going forward.
“We know we’re the better team, but clearly we made more mistakes than they did,” Gordon said. “In the National Football League, it doesn’t matter if you’re the better team or not. You make mistakes, you’re going to lose.”
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