The Broncos were absolutely embarrassed on their home field against the Las Vegas Raiders. Vic Fangio’s seat is officially hot. Who else disappointed?
The Denver Broncos honored former head coach and hopefully a future Hall of Famer in Mike Shanahan at halftime of their first game of the 2021 season against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Shanahan was the best Broncos coach on the field, too.
It was a day to forget for Vic Fangio and his staff, and if his seat wasn’t warm before the loss against the Raiders, it’s definitely warming up now.
Vic Fangio and his staff are all officially on notice.
Broncos: Vic Fangio on the hot seat, other disappointments vs. Raiders
The Broncos went 7-9 in Fangio’s first season as a head coach, and basically gave him a pass for the disastrous 2020 season which was obviously affected by the pandemic and a litany of injuries.
After spending a ton of money on the secondary, allowing Fangio to move on from Drew Lock, and a number of other huge moves the Broncos made in the 2021 offseason, anything less than the playoffs simply will not cut it for Denver this season.
After the Los Angeles Chargers lost against the Baltimore Ravens in the 11:00 MT window, the Broncos had a golden opportunity to come out and push their way toward first place in the AFC West with a big divisional win against the Raiders.
The team simply does not have it.
At least they ended their embarrassing streak of games without an opening-drive touchdown.
There are still 11 games left in the 2021 season, but right now, it doesn’t look good for Fangio.
Who else disappointed against the Raiders? Let’s have a look at the unfortunately lengthy list.
Denver Broncos disappointments in loss vs. Raiders
Head coach Vic Fangio
Fangio’s team has simply been underprepared, outmatched, and outcoached in each of the last three weeks after the team’s 3-0 start to the 2021 season.
The way the team has played in the last three games — all losses — has simply been inexcusable.
They have been lethargic on offense.
The defense continually allows huge plays and that plagued them once again versus the Raiders.
The special teams continue to be a weak area of the team on a weekly basis.
Fangio has not been appropriately accountable for his team’s mistakes and mistakes that have been his own doing.
It’s safe to say that against the Raiders and in all three of the Broncos’ most recent games, Vic Fangio has been a disappointment and is on his way to becoming a defensive coordinator elsewhere in 2022.
Every week for the past three games, the Broncos are either totally outcoached or they can’t execute.
In the second half of the game, Fangio seemingly threw his challenge flag not once but twice out of pure desperation, completely ignoring the fact that the Raiders had made plays he argued they did not.
Given how poorly the Denver Broncos‘ defense has played against the Ravens, Steelers, and now the Raiders, how can you justify Fangio’s defensive expertise at the head coaching position?
His defense is not getting home in the pass rush department. The high-priced secondary (more on them later) is stinking up the place.
How much longer can the Broncos tolerate the “death by inches” Fangio vowed his team would not struggle with?
Three straight losses after a 3-0 start has the Broncos in a position now where the idea of the playoffs seems like a distant memory.
Denver Broncos disappointments in loss vs. Raiders
Teddy Bridgewater, QB
This was Teddy Bridgewater’s worst performance thus far for the Denver Broncos.
Outside of the first drive of the game, the offense was lethargic, inefficient, and Teddy Bridgwater was the reason for a lot of it.
A lot of fans during the game came back on Twitter blaming the offensive line for Bridgewater’s struggles, but the offensive line can only hold blocks (legally) for so long.
Bridgewater was consistently holding onto the ball too long from the very first snap of the game, and unlike in previous contests, he was not taking good care of the ball.
He threw a pass early on that was somehow caught by Tim Patrick but could have easily been a pick-six for the Raiders. He then actually threw an interception on a 4th-and-1 play with Eric Saubert wide open.
In all, Bridgewater turned the ball over three times against the Raiders. Was he not pitched when the coaching staff selected him as the guy who was going to take better care of the football? What happened to the Bridgewater we saw in the early portion of the season?
This has been an atrocious three games for Bridgewater with little-to-no positives to be taken away whatsoever.
He just looks bad out there.
Indecisive, inaccurate downfield, and careless with the football in this particular game.
Even after the Broncos pulled off the impossible in today’s NFL by recovering an onside kick, Bridgewater threw his third interception of the game.
Denver Broncos that disappointed in loss vs. Raiders
The entire secondary
The Denver Broncos have the most expensive secondary in the NFL this season, by far, with over $43 million allocated just to this year’s salary cap.
The Broncos have big-money free agent signings in the secondary, they spent their first-round draft pick on cornerback Patrick Surtain II, and despite all of those acquisitions, the secondary has frankly stunk this season.
The secondary seemingly gives up no fewer than one or two huge plays in the passing game to the opposing offense on a weekly basis, and the Las Vegas Raiders really exploited Denver’s weakness in that regard.
Henry Ruggs got himself a 48-yard touchdown early on. Hunter Renfrow got in the mix with a huge play in the passing game, as did running back Kenyan Drake.
Bryan Edwards put the game away late with a 51-yard reception against the Broncos’ best cornerback, Bryce Callahan.
It has been ugly in recent weeks for the Broncos’ secondary, which looks extremely porous despite their lofty pay grade.
Denver Broncos: 5 inexcusable mistakes in loss against Steelers
The Denver Broncos not only lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they also made some seriously inexcusable mistakes in the process.
The way the secondary has been giving up big plays has been absolutely unacceptable. Don’t be surprised if the Broncos become sellers and players like Kyle Fuller and Bryce Callahan go on the trade block.