Vic Fangio’s fourth quarter decision in Broncos loss was the final straw
Vic Fangio’s decision to kick a field goal in the fourth quarter of a seven-point game was the final straw for many in Broncos Country.
With no playoffs on the line and seemingly everything to gain by actually notching a victory against the Chiefs, Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio made a decision late in the fourth quarter that may have been the final straw for all of Broncos Country.
On a 4th-and-9 in the red zone, down by seven points, Fangio decided to send his field goal unit out onto the field and hope that his defense could get a stop against the Chiefs’ offense.
No matter what would have happened in that scenario, the Broncos would have needed another touchdown in the game. Fangio spoke after the game to the media and stated that the analytics don’t favor a 4th-and-9 conversion, which may be factually accurate.
However, in the heat of the moment, it was the worst possible call he could have made and sort of sums up his tenure with Denver thus far.
It’s been clear for a long time now that Fangio and his staff do not trust Drew Lock, and he made sure we all knew that once and for all with his decision to take the ball out of Lock’s hands with the game on the line and put everything on the defense’s shoulders…
…even though he would need Lock even if his defense had gotten a stop.
Fangio was extremely aggressive against the Chiefs earlier in the season, passing on field goals and instead going for it on fourth down plays. Remember back in early December when the Broncos went for six fourth-down plays against the Chiefs, only converting three of them?
As Benjamin Allbright put it during the game:
At this particular juncture of this particular game, who cares what the analytics say?
There was a great snippet from just a couple of weeks ago when Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called a timeout as his team had just scored a touchdown and was trailing by one point. They had the option to kick the extra point and go to overtime or go for two points and win the game.
He called his quarterback over to the sideline during the timeout — not starting quarterback and former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, but backup Tyler Huntley — and actually asked him if he wanted to go for the win.
After some quick conversation and Huntley campaigning to go for it, the Ravens did. Harbaugh signed off on the decision, and his team did not convert. That is a coach that knows his team and players have his back because he has their back.
Although the situations are not exactly the same, Vic Fangio decided at this moment to make an autonomous decision and kick a field goal. Make all the jokes you want about the fact that Drew Lock was his quarterback at this moment. Lock played what Fangio himself dubbed his best game of the season and on 4th-and-9, Fangio decided to take the ball out of Lock’s hands and put everything on his own shoulders.
Fangio trusted his analytics. He trusted his defense, which on the season is one of the worst teams in the league at stopping opposing offenses on third downs. He trusted his defense, which was down its two starting cornerbacks and Kareem Jackson.
He trusted himself.
After a fumble by Melvin Gordon on what could have very well been a touchdown drive, Drew Lock marched the offense right back down the field. The decision Fangio made to take the field goal with just over four minutes left was the wrong call, no matter what the outcome might have been.
If you trust your defense to get a stop, why would you not take the shot on fourth down?
If you trust your defense to make a stop, why are you not being more aggressive at the end of the first half to score a touchdown?
There is no doubt that the Broncos should be making plans to move on from Fangio. As he stated after the game, his future is “great”.
Fangio will be a coveted defensive coordinator if or when the Broncos decide to move on.
His decision in this game is a microcosm of his time in Denver — he never trusted Drew Lock, and in some cases, he was proven right in that lack of trust. However, in this particular situation, Fangio’s decision to trust himself over his players was a sign that he’s not the right guy for the job moving forward.