Gassers, quotable and a look ahead following the Broncos’ 34-13 loss to the Chargers in Week 17.
Gassers
Vic Fangio
Like the quarterback-less loss to New Orleans last year, Fangio gets an asterisk next to Sunday’s loss as he was missing about half his lineup due to COVID/injuries. Even so, Fangio’s Broncos continue to be horrible against the AFC West — 5-12 over the last three years — and in the small details of every game (e.g. Fangio lost another challenge Sunday on an ill-advised red flag, dropping him to 1 of 8 this year).
Broncos special teams
If special teams coach Tom McMahon still has a job next year in Dove Valley, something is seriously wrong. Denver’s error-prone special teams units committed three costly blunders Sunday that led to 21 points for the Chargers. Los Angeles’ 47-yard return on the opening kickoff set the tone, while Diontae Spencer had a muffed punt and Andre Roberts took back a kickoff 101 yards for a fourth-quarter TD.
Broncos pass-rush
After an off game in a loss to the Broncos in Week 12, Justin Herbert took a little while to settle in Sunday. But once he did, the Chargers’ offense hummed. Herbert picked on reserves in the Broncos’ secondary (see: Nate Hairston), but a lack of a pass rush didn’t help matters. Denver failed to register a sack for the first time all season as Herbert evaded the few pass-rush attempts Denver did have.
Quotebook
Vic Fangio on the 101-yard touchdown return given up: “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 on the offense: “We can’t seem to find a rhythm or consistency in our offense to keep drives sustained, make first downs and eventually get touchdowns.”
Drew Lock on the status of his injured right shoulder: :”It’s pretty numb right now, so we’ll see (Monday).”
Lock on if 2021 is a “bad” season because of missing the playoffs: “Yeah… In the NFL, the only thing that matters is the playoffs.”
Brandon McManus on another season out of the postseason: “It’s disappointing. It’s six years now, missing the playoffs. 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.”
Up Next
Sunday vs Chiefs, 2:25 p.m.
Record: 11-5
Week 17 result: Lost 34-31 at Cincinnati
Coach: Andy Reid (9th year)
About the Browns: After an up-and-down start, Kansas City caught fire with eight consecutive wins coming into Week 17. But Joe Burrow and the Bengals cooled off the Chiefs with a win by way of a last-second field goal. The Chiefs already clinched the AFC West with a Week 16 win and are now the No. 2 seed in the conference, behind Tennessee. K.C. needs to beat Denver and have the Titans lose in order to re-gain a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
