This was the Broncos’ chance to put last year behind them, to finish a come-from-behind win, to be led down the field by their new quarterback and to show their Week 1 win over Seattle wasn’t a fluke.
In the huddle, the offensive players were confident when they returned to the field with 1:58 remaining Sunday against Oakland trailing by 2 points. No timeouts? Big deal. And one play into the drive, bad field position (their own 10-yard line)? No worry.
“We knew we were going to win,” left tackle Garett Bolles said. “That was just our attitude.”
On the bench, the defensive players had a collective belief the 2018 Broncos in this situation would fare differently than the 2017 Broncos.
“You could trust them that they were going to make the plays,” defensive end said.
Bolles’ attitude and Gotsis’ trust were rewarded when the Broncos moved 62 yards on 10 plays to set up ’ 36-yard field goal with six seconds left for a stirring 20-19 win over the Raiders.
The Broncos trailed 12-0 at halftime and 19-7 late in the third quarter. Even though their offense was ignited after halftime, it appeared too little, too late until they neared midfield with 54 seconds remaining.
Quarterback Case Keenum converted a third-and-3 with a four-yard pass to tight end . Clock stopped at 26 seconds.
Two plays later, Keenum threw a four-yard pass to receiver . His first NFL reception complete, Patrick then went to work. Instead of heading to the sideline, he turned up field, broke tackle attempts by Gareon Conley and Leon Hall to gain 26 yards to the Raiders’ 18 with 10 seconds left.
McManus drilled the game-winning field goal on the next play.
“I knew he was going to make it,” coach said.
If this Broncos season turns into something cool, Joseph will be sure to remember this comeback, which was only the 10th in team history from at least a 12-point deficit at halftime and the first in six years.
The Broncos improved to 2-0 for the sixth consecutive year, the league’s longest current streak. They beat Oakland for the 11th time in 15 games. They saw another monster performance from rookie running back (107 yards on 14 carries). They cracked but didn’t splinter apart defensively, forcing early field goals and a punt with two minutes remaining. And Shaquil Barrettap first-half blocked extra point proved vital.
For so long, a positive result looked unlikely. The offense was that bad in the first half. The defense was having that many problems accounting for receiver and tight end and at their collective witap end against throw-quickly quarterback , who completed 17 consecutive passes at one point.
“At halftime, it wasn’t good,” Joseph said.
The head coach is being kind. The offense was in the midst of a stinker. Their first half possessions were punt, punt, punt, interception, punt and clock ran out. Playing in the hottest home game in franchise history (92 degrees), the Broncos were melting.
What was good, though, was the locker room mindset. Players said Joseph didn’t throw a fit as a way of urging better performance. Joseph knows his roster and, therefore, knew a speech wasn’t needed. Instead, the coaches and players used the 13 minutes to re-set the offensive game plan (Joseph and play-caller decided to be more aggressive) and re-group their defensive wind (on the field for 20 minutes, 32 seconds).
“It was like any other halftime; everything was typical and normal,” said right tackle , who replaced Jared Veldheer (concussion). “We came in and went through the adjustments and geared up for the second half.”
Said Bolles: “We’re the type of team that, when we’re down and things aren’t going our way, itap ‘Letap fix it.’ Thatap just how we are.”
The Broncos awoke after halftime, cutting the lead to 12-7 on ’s 1-yard run. But the back-and-forth scoring did them no good — McManus’ 39-yard field goal answered ’ 20-yard touchdown catch. Keenum’s fourth-down touchdown dive cut Oakland’s lead to 19-17 with 5:58 remaining.
Oakland made two first downs but punted it back to the Broncos. After a holding call on Bolles, Keenum and Co. went to work.
“The whole line just played their guts out and (we) got some plays down the field,” Keenum said. “It was fun to watch.”
Keenum threw 21 yards to on second-and-20. Two plays later, he threw 14 yards to tight end . Three plays later, four yards to Heuerman, who got out of bounds. And then the pass to Patrick. Only then did a Broncos win seem realistic. On the win probability scale, it was probably the first time it inched above 50 percent.
“The offense made it easier for me (with) that last play,” McManus said.
And, for at least the next six days, life is a little easier for the Broncos. They started 2-0 and 3-1 last year before their season imploded.
“Last year is last year,” Joseph said. “Thatap over. This year, our team is different.”
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