OAKLAND, Calif. — Wide receiver set a personal 24-hour clock late Monday night for time allowed to reflect on his glaring mistake in the Broncos’ loss at the Raiders.
For apountry, though, the gaffe will likely resonate a bit longer.
The play in question — facing third down at the Oakland 8-yard line while trailing 14-3 late in the third quarter — featured Hamilton motioning into the slot left of quarterback in the shotgun. Hamilton drew safety Lamarcus Joyner in coverage, shook him on an inside cut and easily created separation in the end zone. Flacco delivered a perfect strike for what should have been an uncontested touchdown. Until it wasn’t.
The football went through Hamilton’s outstretched hands, bounced off his chest and hit the grass. The Broncos settled for a field goal, one of three on the night, as their red-zone offense mostly sputtered throughout its 24-16 loss.
Hamilton, a second-year wide receiver taken No. 113 overall (fourth round), accepted full responsibility afterward.
“Thatap a play that I know I should make and I’ll make 99 times out of 100,” Hamilton said. “Thatap hard, especially when we were struggling in the red zone and we don’t get any momentum at all in that game. 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.”
Of course, a true assessment of Denver’s demise was wide-ranging; like a third-down defense which allowed conversions on 10-of-14 attempts, zero sacks of Oakland quarterback and six costly penalties. Hamilton’s teammates were also quick to prop him up.
“DaeSean is a really good wide receiver and he’s going to have an awesome year and be a really great receiver in this league,” Flacco said. “I know how he feels about it, but we’re a team and those things happened. Thatap not why we lost the game. I have all the faith in DaeSean to do the right things to catch the football. I’m going to be on his side to help him bounce back and get ready for a great week.”
Added wide receiver : “(Hamilton) is one of those people where he’s going to take that and itap going to fuel him. He’s going to push himself even harder going into the rest of the season. He’s resilient and thatap not going to dwell on him too much. He’s going to take it and move on. Thatap how he is.”
Hamilton has no choice but to move on quickly as the Bears visit Denver on Sunday with a short week to prepare.
“I didn’t start on the right foot … but I know what I can do,” Hamiton said. “Thatap why I’m ready for my next opportunity, whatever it may be, however it may come, and I know I’m going to make the play.”
