Take the challenge flag away from Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio
The Denver Broncos have struggled mightily at challenging plays during the 2021 season. It happened again against the Detroit Lions.
The Denver Broncos destroyed the Detroit Lions on Sunday by a final score of 38-10. It was the type of win Broncos fans had long been waiting for. Just days after the death of former Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, the team did him proud.
Ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns while Teddy Bridgewater threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
There was one play, however, that did not go the Broncos’ way in terms of being challenged. That’s right: Vic Fangio lost another challenge this year.
The challenge came while the team was up 31-10. The ruling on the field was that a Lions player was down prior to the football popping out. Fangio, with very little to lose, threw the red flag onto the field, challenging that the ball was out prior to the player’s knee being down.
While it was completely obvious to viewers at home, it must not have been obvious for the people upstairs that suggest to the head coach to challenge the play. This failure of a challenge was not as big of a deal as others due to the team winning by such a big margin. However, Fangio’s challenge track record needs to get better.
The Denver Broncos are now 1-of-7 in challenges for the 2021 season. That number is staggering. There’s no excuse for such poor challenge execution. If this was a closer game and the game was on the line, it would have been a bigger deal today. The point is, somebody needs to be better at this.
The Broncos cannot let this happen against tougher teams. It’s one thing to challenge plays early on in the first half, but if the team is in a tight matchup or losing by two touchdowns, somebody needs to be better at this crucial aspect of a football game.