Broncos Can’t Break The St. Louis Road Curse
By Tylor Walden
Nov 16, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) reacts after throwing an incomplete pass during the second half against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams won 22-7. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
I have no idea what it is with the Broncos and playing the St. Louis Rams on the road that gives them such bad luck, but the curse remains alive.
It was a horrible game on both sides of the field for the Denver Broncos. The offense could not get anything going, Peyton Manning struggled to get anything going, and the majority of his favorite weapons were taken out of the game due to injury. The Broncos suffered to what many Broncos fans will say is the worst lost this season. 22-7 might not be a huge margin to lose by, but by the way the game was played for the entire 60 minutes the Rams outclassed them in every aspect of the game.
The defense only allowed a big touchdown pass from Shaun Hill to Kenny Britt and five Greg Zuerlein field goals. Minus that big touchdown pass, the Denver defense did all they could to keep the team in the game. The Rams kept placing the pressure on Peyton Manning and he seemed to be all over the place and could not get a rhythm going. For the Broncos, they continue the curse at St. Louis. The Broncos have not won in St. Louis in quite some time. The Edward Jones Dome has been a place of misery for the Broncos for the last 14 years and will continue at least for another eight years.
The curse really began this year when Julius Thomas went down with an ankle injury. Losing a huge weapon that is a huge mismatch to players and can make plays on third down was huge. Montee Ball re-aggravating his groin injury made things worse for a backfield that already was without Ronnie Hillman. There was a bright spot as Emmanuel Sanders helped bring the Broncos to within one score. However, when Sanders got hit hard by McLeod and left the game, the curse was in full effect.
The old saying is that every dog has its days and Peyton Manning clearly had his, as well as the entire offense. Nothing was going well and it clearly showed in a huge way. I fully expect this team to bounce back, but with this loss it will be an even harder mountain to climb in the Broncos quest for a Super Bowl title. At least the Broncos do not have to worry for another eight years about playing the Rams on the road. But today clearly showed that St. Louis is a curse for the Broncos.