Denver Broncos lose road game to Buffalo Bills: 5 reasons why

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ORCHARD PARK, NY – SEPTEMBER 24: Riley Dixon #9 of the Denver Broncos punts the ball during an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on September 24, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

3. The fake punt

Hindsight is 20/20, and it’s always easy to criticize a decision to fake a punt.

It’s one thing to go for a fake punt in opponent territory, or close to the 50. The Broncos were nowhere near a point on the field that is reasonable to go for it on fourth down when trailing by just four points, but Vance Joseph called it.

I doubt he’ll ever do it again.

The Broncos tried a direct snap to De’Angelo Henderson on the punt, but Henderson was stopped well short of the line to gain.

There’s no explanation for why the Broncos took this risk, other than they just needed some kind of jolt to get momentum. It didn’t hurt them all that bad, as the Bills were only able to increase the lead to seven points with a field goal.

If the call for a fake punt works, it’s genius because at that part of the field, the Bills shouldn’t have been expecting it. When it doesn’t work, it’s easy to be critical since the Broncos were down by four and usually just rely on their defense in those situations.

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