Denver Broncos drop golden opportunity in Atlanta
The Denver Broncos had a chance to get to .500, but blew it.
The Broncos traveled to Atlanta on Sunday to face a 2-6 Falcons team and left with their fifth loss of the season. The Falcons were playing without Calvin Ridley, who has been one of the best receivers in the league this year, but still put up 34 points and 363 yards of total offense.
The fact that the Broncos were without starting cornerbacks A.J. Bouye and Bryce Callahan proved to be too much as Matt Ryan threw the ball all over them.
Ryan completed 25-of-35 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns, including a 51-yard bomb to Olamide Zaccheaus that got the Falcons rolling early on. Atlanta held leads of 27-6 and 34-13 before Drew Lock began to work his fourth-quarter magic again, nearly bringing the Broncos back for the second week in a row.
But for the Broncos, this is a terribly disappointing loss. Though the Falcons have played much better under interim head coach Raheem Morris, it was a game that Denver needed to win. The fact that they didn’t and were beaten so handily for the first three quarters again illustrates just how far away this team actually is.
The Broncos had a chance to move to 4-4 with the win. The team hasn’t been at .500 since a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in December 2018. The disappointing loss looks even worse when you look at the team’s upcoming schedule.
The Broncos face the Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints in the next three weeks and though all of those teams are competitive, none of them have been dominant. Getting wins in two of those three games would have moved the team to 6-5 and in a good position for a late-season playoff push.
Now, if the team is to lose two of those next three games (or all three), they then face the Kansas City Chiefs, and the playoffs would be all but out of reach at that point.
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Sunday’s game against Atlanta, which was one the heels of an amazing come-from-behind win over the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday, would have given the Broncos some great momentum heading into that next three-game stretch.
Instead, there will be more questions and more doubt surrounding this team.
If you’re looking for a bright spot, Lock had another solid fourth quarter and Jerry Jeudy put together his best game yet, catching seven passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
But the secondary was just bad. Justin Simmons did have an interception, his third of the year, but the team as a whole could not stop Atlanta’s passing attack. Zaccheaus had over 100 yards receiving on just four catches.
The Broncos will make their first-ever trip to Las Vegas to face the Raiders next Sunday in what should be considered a must-win game for the team.