Coaching longevity could be defined as the NFL’s ultimate oxymoron.
Especially when your goof is as moronic as the mistake Baltimore coach Brian Billick committed Sunday, allowing Denver to escape with a 12-10 victory only a Broncomaniac could love.
The Broncos did not beat lowly Baltimore so much as coach Mike Shanahan saved the local football heroes from an embarrassing defeat.
On a December afternoon when the football played was often as ugly as a rasslin’ match at the 50 percent-off table during a holiday sale at your favorite department store, all the smart choices were on Shanahan’s shopping list.
No coach walks into an NFL stadium with more swagger than Billick.
Denver, however, knocked the arrogance out of Billick in the fourth quarter when, trailing 12-3, the Ravens refused to take an easy field goal and challenged the Broncos on fourth down from the 1-yard line.
“They had an opportunity to kick a field goal and instead decided they wanted to score a touchdown. It was almost like a smack in the face. It was a personal challenge,” Denver linebacker Al Wilson said. “It didn’t surprise me. Brian Billick is one of those coaches that has a little swagger to him, and you expect him to do those type of things.”
Baltimore running back Chester Taylor was stuffed for a 4-yard loss on fourth down.
By way of explaining his foolish gamble at the goal line, Billick said, “Given our circumstances, it was too much to pass up the chance.”
Second-guessing? You bet. But two-point games are where coaches earn their money.
This morning, Baltimore should demand a refund from Billick and 10 good reasons why he should remain employed.
A Christmas bonus should be in the mail to Shanahan, who guided the sleepwalking Broncos to a win, on a Sunday when AFC West rivals San Diego and Kansas City both were caught napping. You snooze, you lose.
“I’ll be honest with you, in September, you don’t pay much attention to other teams,” said Broncos fullback Kyle Johnson, who jumped for joy in front of a locker-room television as he watched the Chiefs drop a costly game to Dallas.
It is to the credit of Shanahan and Billick that both men have ruled in one NFL city for so long.
Shanahan has coached 11 years in Denver, twice bringing home a championship. The reign of Billick has lasted seven years in Baltimore.
Genius, however, is no guarantee of future applause – or employment – in the NFL.
OK, so maybe Shanahan had more pieces to work with in this chess match.
Every time Baltimore quarterback Kyle Boller fell down and went boom or heaved a blind pass to a Broncos defender, I swear you could hear a nyuck, nyuck, nyuck that the Three Stooges made famous.
Or maybe it was a mocking noise from Billick.
Shanahan’s masterstroke was milking a score from the final 48 seconds of the second quarter, when the Denver offense had gone nowhere for the vast majority of the opening half.
“Against that (Ravens) defense, you have to be careful, because if you try to get the big play, they’ll come up with a sack or the interception,” Shanahan said.
Instead, the Broncos used four beautifully conceived pass plays and a timely spike to stop the clock by quarterback Jake Plummer, setting up a 48-yard field goal by Jason Elam on the final snap before halftime.
Right there, Shanahan stole three points from Billick. How important was it? You do the math.
In the end, all that separated the awful Ravens from the disinterested Broncos was two lousy points.
At times, it was hard to tell the hopeless franchise from the championship contender.
But the difference between Shana- han and Billick? Imagine a game of Jeopardy! between Stephen Hawking and Forrest Gump.
And what prizes do we have for our contestants?
Looks like Shanahan is going to be rewarded with Denver’s first playoff game at home since before old Mile High Stadium was reduced to rubble.
And, if he’s not careful, Baltimore’s resident football genius could get his ticket punched out of town.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
