Seven takeaways from the Denver Broncos’ tough loss to the Tennessee Titans.
After all the anticipation, waiting until the final game of Week 1 of the NFL season, the Denver Broncos broke our hearts in an all too familiar way.
In the first four games of the 2019 season, the Broncos fell victim to some heartbreaking defeats in the final seconds of some close (and frankly, ugly) games. The 2020 season is off to a similar start, unfortunately, as the Broncos dropped their season opener at home to the Tennessee Titans 16-14.
It’s amazing to have football back, starting on time, and aside from not having fans in the stands, feeling relatively normal. With a shortened offseason and no preseason games, there were bound to be some hiccups for the Denver Broncos, boasting the youngest offense in the NFL, and there were plenty of hiccups to go around in this one.
With that said, there were also some very positive things to take away from this game and some things for the Broncos to build on. There was no Courtland Sutton, no Von Miller, no Ja’Wuan James, and for a lot of the game there was no AJ Bouye. KJ Hamler didn’t play, and Phillip Lindsay didn’t return from the locker room after halftime.
So many of the Broncos’ best players were not able to contribute to this game, and the combination of injuries and youth (and some weird clock management by Vic Fangio) were simply too much for this team to overcome in the end.
Still, the Broncos looked like they belonged against a team that had a lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in last year’s AFC Championship game. Despite the injuries and youth, Denver had a plethora of chances to win this game and take control throughout, they simply couldn’t get out of their own way.
As Drew Lock put it, the Titans didn’t ‘win’ the game as much ad Denver ‘lost’ it.
So what was the story from this game? What were the major takeaways? What can be built on going forward?
Let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from week one’s unfortunate loss.