The Broncos fell to the Ravens 41-10 in their first real test of the season. Though both teams were 5-3 heading into the game, you could see a clear difference between a young team that has been overachieving and a championship-caliber team that let a few games slip away. All this game proved was that the Broncos are still ways a way from being a real contender for a championship and because of that their margin for error against teams like Baltimore are razor thin.
For Denver to win this game, they had to take advantage of every opportunity, but they could not. For example, in the first half, after a horrible start with Nix throwing an interception in the second play, the Broncos' defense held serve and kicked the Ravens out of field goal range. Then, on the next possession, they drove down the field and faced a 4th and one in Ravens territory and were unable to convert. The Ravens went down and scored, going up 7-0. Denver once again moved down the field and found themselves in 4th and four on the Ravens' 33-yard line; Nix overthrew a wide-open Troy Franklin down the left sideline. The Broncos squandered an opportunity to go up either 7-0 or 3-0 and blew the chance to tie it up 7-7. If either of those things happens, maybe it is a different ball game. Ravens would go up 10-0, and the Denver would respond with a Sutton pass TD to Nix(yes, you read that right), and the game was 10-7, and at this point, maybe we might be able to have a ball game. Unfortunately, the defense struggled all day long and gave up a TD on the drive, making the score 17-7 Ravens. Denver then had a good drive but was unable to punch it into the endzone due to penalties and mental mistakes, so they had to settle for an FG and the game was 17-10, and the Ravens had just under a minute left in the half with the ball. The Ravens would end up scoring off a crazy play by Zay Flowers as he eluded four defenders to score a TD at the end of the half, and that made it 24-10 that play, in my opinion, sapped the momentum from the Broncos. The Ravens would come out of half and score 31-10, and that was your ball game. Denver had negative total yards in the 3rd quarter.
It was a rough game for the young Broncos, who were looking to prove themselves this week. Losing 41-10 is a tough pill to swallow, but let's face it, they lost to a great team featuring Derrick Henry, who already has 1000 yards on the season, and Lamar Jackson, who has a great shot at winning MVP number 3 and had a perfect passer rating yesterday. There is no shame in getting blown out by the Ravens. I was still encouraged by Nix as he made some nice throws when the game was still in the balance in the first half, and his catching TD was impressive because he was well-covered on the play. Many people think the defense got exposed, and that could be true, but they have played too well all year long for me to think they will now start crumbling against stiffer competition. Flush this one and get ready for KC.
Comments