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The Denver Broncos came up inches short on Thursday night.
Their offense, however, is miles from where it needs to be.
The Broncos failed on fourth-and-inches in overtime, five yards from the end zone and victory against the Indianapolis Colts at Empower Field, when Russell Wilson fired incomplete over the middle to Courtland Sutton.
The 12-9 loss goes down as the worst in a string of lackluster offensive performances to open the Russell Wilson era in Denver.
After a Chase McLaughlin field goal gave Indianapolis the lead with 5 minutes, 50 seconds, remaining in overtime, Wilson hit Melvin Gordon for 24 yards on a screen, then found Jerry Jeudy wide open for 37 up the right sideline, setting up Denver with a final chance to win.
Three straight snaps, Wilson handed to Gordon, who started for the injured Javonte Williams, and he picked up nine-plus yards.
Instead of running the ball one more time with less than a yard to gain and the game in the balance, the Broncos instead operated out of the shotgun and came up empty.
It never should have come to that in the first place.
The Broncos led 9-6 in the waning minutes and looked primed to put the game away, but Wilson was picked off by cornerback Stephon Gilmore in the end zone with 2:13 remaining.
Instead of moving, at the very least, past the two-minute warning and attempting a field goal to go up by six – if not punch in a put-away touchdown – Wilson’s ill-advised attempt at a slant route to reserve wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland gave the Colts one last chance with the ball.
Matt Ryan, harassed the entire night and sacked six times in regulation, led the Colts 67 yards in 2:08 and McLaughlin knocked home his third field goal of the night to send the game into overtime.
Earlier this week, Wilson insisted he defines offensive progress by one metric.
“Winning. That’s it. That’s all that really matters,” he said in the midst of Denver’s short week of preparation for the Colts.
The Broncos’ failed by that measure and by just about every other offensively.
Denver didn’t score an offensive touchdown in regulation and has just two in three home games this fall.
Oh, they had opportunities again on this night.
In four drives before Wilson’s late interception, Denver settled for field goal attempts at Indy’s 15, 16, 26 and 27-yard line. Brandon McManus made three and had the other blocked by pressure right between longsnapper Jacob Bobenmoyer and right guard Graham Glasgow.
Wilson’s first interception of the night came earlier in the fourth quarter, also with a 9-6 lead, when he was pressured on third-and-13 and lofted a ball down the left hash where nobody but Colts safety Rodney Wilson waited for it.
Offensively, Denver looked discombobulated throughout the game and downright bad for large swaths of it.
In the 11 days between walking off the field against Indy and kickoff at SoFi Stadium against the division-rival Chargers, the Broncos offensive staff must develop a better plan for staying ahead of the sticks. Offensive coordinator Justin Outten said this week the team spends too much time looking for “get back on track” options.
Well, Denver spent precious little time on the tracks Thursday night.
Among the Broncos’ first 13 third downs came conversion tries from 17, 16, 16, 15, 13, 12, 10, 10, 10, 8 and 7 yards. The only two they converted: From two and one.
Too often Denver simply couldn’t get itself in manageable position. That, in part, due to an anemic run game that in its first nine non-kneeldown possessions mustered just 54 rushing yards and only 22 on 12 attempts by running backs.
It took more than 50 minutes for the run game to finally kick into gear. That’s when Melvin Gordon and Mike Boone ripped off runs of 17 and 18, respectively, powering a drive that bled the clock.
Even that march came at a steep cost. Denver left tackle Garett Bolles suffered an apparent right ankle injury in the midst of the drive and needed to be helped to a cart that took him directly to the locker room.
Then, Wilson’s interception.
Next thing you know, the Broncos are 2-3 and searching for answers. They’ll face nothing but questions for the next week-plus.
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