Baltimore Ravens’ Albert McClellan (50) forces a fumble of Denver Broncos wide receiver Trindon Holliday (11). (USA Today)

Muff. The word sounds so harmless.

In the grand scheme of all things NFL, however, a muff means potential turnover.

There were three muffed punts in the Denver Broncos’ 34-12 win over the Cleveland Browns Sunday. First it was sure-handed safety Jim Leonhard who muffed one in the second quarter before falling right on top of it. Then it was Trindon Holliday who muffed one to start the fourth quarter. Chris Harris fell on top of that one.

“We had a couple we put on the ground, not just Trindon,” John Fox said following the game. “Like I said, not too many of these (games) are perfect. You strive for perfection, but you seldom get it.”

The third muffed punt came shortly after Holliday’s error. Browns’ return specialist Josh Cribbs muffed one, but unlike the Broncos’ luck, he wasn’t able to recover. Lance Ball fell on top of it on Cleveland’s 19-yard line. The Browns committed an 18-yard pass interference penalty on the next play which put the Broncos on the 1-yard line. Then, fullback Jacob Hester punched it in to really put the game out of reach at 31-6 in the fourth quarter.

While the Broncos’ unsteady hands didn’t lead to any special teams’ turnovers, this is something that needs to be addressed with the playoffs coming. Those kinds of mistakes against New England or Houston won’t cut it.

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Britton Colquitt celebrates Matt Prater's game winning field goal against the Chargers. (Harry How/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos special teams has played as much a role in the team’s recent success as the guys on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Britton Colquitt is averaging 47.6 yards per punt which is good enough for 7th in the league, and Matt Prater is hitting his field goals in crunch time. Quan Cosby is averaging 10.9 yards per punt return (11th in the NFL), and as a team the Broncos are 6th in the league in kick returns averaging 26.8 yards per return.

The Broncos special teams took things to another level when they played the Chargers on Sunday. They won the field position battle, and in the end, gave Prater a chance to kick a 37-yard field goal in overtime.

“If there are any unsung heros is this situation, it’s really the guys playing on those special teams because Britton Colquitt and Matt Prater have been tremendous in the kicking game,” John Elway said.
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