For all the silver linings Brandon McManus provided the Broncos’ dismal special teams this season, even he had a role in another ugly performance by the units in Sunday’s 34-13 loss to the Chargers.
McManus had a career-long 61-yard field goal and tacked on another short field goal at SoFi Stadium, but his wayward kickoff early in the fourth quarter set the Chargers up for a 101-yard touchdown return by Andre Roberts.
“I was supposed to kick it to the right more, and higher,” McManus said. “(Roberts) caught it on the goal line right on the hash, and I was trying to kick it right of that. That was a bad kick by me.”
Roberts’ touchdown return was the last in a trifecta of special teams blunders by the Broncos that began on the opening kick, when Roberts’ 47-yard return set the Chargers up with a short field for their first touchdown drive.
Vic Fangio provided no alibis for Denver’s poor coverage, which ranked last in the NFL entering Week 17 at 33.6 yards allowed per kickoff return.
“(Our COVID and injury issues) trickles down into the special teams area, but there’s no excuses — we’ve got to play with who we’ve got and we’ve got to find a way to cover kicks better,” Fangio said.
The second special teams’ gaffe was the biggest, as it came with the game still within reach for Denver. With the Broncos down 10-0 late in the second quarter, the defense forced a three-and-out, rising up after the Broncos’ offense was denied a touchdown on a trick play at the goal line.
But, right as Denver was to get the ball back, with a short field to work with, Diontae Spencer had his second fumble of the year on a muffed punt. The Chargers recovered around midfield and went ahead 17-0 a few minutes later. The Broncos never got the momentum back.
“That was a big point in the game there,” Fangio said. “That gave them a short field…. I was surprised (by Spencer’s muff). He’s usually very sure-handed back there.”
McManus relished his first career make from 60-plus yards, which came at the halftime buzzer and is the longest field goal in a road game in team history (and third-longest overall). But the last remaining member from Denver’s Super Bowl 50 roster lamented the special teams mistakes that paved the way for the Broncos being eliminated from playoff contention for the sixth consecutive year.
“Itap disappointing,” McManus said. “When you lose a lot of divisional games it doesn’t help. We gave ourselves a chance at 7-6, but obviously we didn’t do enough to win the games down the stretch here.”
Broncos with 60-plus yard field goals
- Matt Prater, 64 yards (vs. Tennessee, Dec. 8, 2013)
- Jason Elam, 63 yards (vs. Jacksonville, Oct. 25, 1998)
- Brandon McManus, 61 yards (at L.A. Chargers, Sunday)
Longest field goals in NFL this year
- Justin Tucker, Baltimore, 66 (at Detroit, Sept. 26)*
- Matt Prater, Arizona, 62 (vs. Minnesota, Sept. 19)
- Brandon McManus, 61 yards (at L.A. Chargers, Sunday) and Ka’imi Fairbairn, Houston (vs. Seattle, Dec. 12)
*NFL record
