4. Not-so-special teams
After week one, it seemed like Tom McMahon may have finally had a competent special teams unit and perhaps that phase of the game had turned a corner for the Denver Broncos.
Unfortunately, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the special teams were pretty atrocious.
Here are some of the lowlights:
- Missed 58-yard field goal by Brandon McManus
- Dropped snap by Sam Martin leading to safety
- Short kickoff return by KJ Hamler leading to bad field position
- 49-yard kickoff return by Ray-Ray McCloud
- 18-yard punt return by Diontae Johnson
The coverage units were not as good, the missed field goal by newly re-signed kicker Brandon McManus loomed large, and the dropped punt by Sam Martin was arguably the difference in the game since the Broncos had to go for it on fourth down in a 5-point game instead of kick a game-tying or game-winning field goal.
I guess it’s back to the drawing board for McMahon’s group.