Denver Broncos may have just hit a new low point in team history

The Denver Broncos’ 2022 season is not going anywhere near the way most thought that it would and following a loss on Thursday Night Football, the franchise may have hit an all-time low.

The Broncos managed to score just nine points, on three field goals, in a 12-9 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in a game that went into overtime. The Colts, for much of the game, could not get out of their own way.

The Broncos could not muster any offense and that is a growing concern. A bigger concern is the fact that once in the red zone, the team becomes even worse. On top of that, the quarterback that everyone in Broncos Country was so happy to get has been absolutely terrible. There is no other way to put it.

Have the Broncos reached a new low point in team history?

So where do things stand here in October 2022?

This is a team that went to three Super Bowls in the 1980s and was blown out in each one. This is a team that suffered a historical upset in 1996 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs. Let’s not forget when Joe Flacco threw it over Rahim Moore’s head in the playoffs or the 43-8 drubbing by the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII.

There have been some low points, but this could be the lowest.

The argument for that is the fact that expectations were not as high when Teddy Bridgewater or Drew Lock was playing quarterback. But with Russell Wilson, expectations were sky-high and he has been worse than both of those quarterbacks.

And though you won’t want to admit that, yes, he has.

In the loss to the Colts, the Broncos essentially had the game won. Though it would have been an extremely ugly win, the Broncos led 9-6 and were facing a 3rd-and-4 from the Indianapolis 13-yard line with 2:13 left on the clock.

The Colts were out of timeouts and the Broncos pretty much had a field goal in the bag for a 6-point lead against a team that had come nowhere close to scoring a touchdown in the game.

But the Broncos inexplicably called a pass play and Wilson made a terrible throw that ended up being picked off by Stephon Gilmore in the end zone. The Colts then marched down the field and scored a field goal to tie things up and send it into overtime.

In overtime, with the Colts already kicking a field goal to go up 12-9, the Broncos actually showed some life on offense, moving the ball all the way down to the Colts’ 5-yard line. But facing a 4th-and-1, instead of tying the game up with a field goal, Nathaniel Hackett chose to go for it.

He apparently didn’t watch Wilson fail miserably on a pass play that should have been a run in Super Bowl XLVIV and called for a pass play, out of the shotgun formation. It was a play that basically had no chance to work as he threw the ball into tight coverage, looking for Courtland Sutton. Gilmore knocked the ball down and sealed the unlikely win for the Colts.

This was absolutely pathetic and for Broncos fans who were planning Super Bowl parties when the team traded for Wilson, those can probably be canceled at this point.

This team is not good. This quarterback is not good and this offense is not good enough to win in the NFL. Additionally, Nathaniel Hackett’s tenure as head coach should absolutely be on shaky ground already.

The Broncos are 2-3 and have the next 11 days off before facing the Los Angeles Chargers. The team has some time to lick its wounds and try to somehow regroup and instill belief in the fanbase again.

But this is a low point in team history and quite frankly, it may have never been worse.