To be totally honest with you, it was a bad performance, overall, from this Denver Broncos' team. They were coming off the bye, which is a time where Sean Payton notoriously has his teams ready to go, and was against a bottom-5 team in the Washington Commanders.
This game should have been over at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the Broncos shot themselves in the foot too many times and continually allowed the Commanders to hang around. There were so many miscues in this one, and we could spend all night talking about them.
But, overall, a win is a win, and on the final play of the game, yet again, the Broncos clinched the victory. Pass-rusher Nik Bonitto batted-down what would have been a game-winning two-point conversion thrown by Marcus Mariota. While the win is nice, the sloppy performance was worrisome.
Why did the Denver Broncos look so bad against the Washington Commanders?
The Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11 before embarking on the bye in Week 12. It was a much-needed break, as this team had been in too many emotional, last-second wins. Seeing the Commanders on the schedule may have been a breath of fresh air in a way, as they came into this game with a poor 3-8 record.
And as we know, Jayden Daniels was not suited up for this contest on Sunday Night Football. At times, we saw great things from both sides of the ball, and on the special teams. However, is it worth worrying that the Broncos had all this time to rest up and game plan, and looked this bad?
Maybe I am overreacting here, as the Commanders came off their bye as well, but I do not think it is an overreaction to suggest that the then 9-2 Broncos should have blown out a three-win team. Many have now begun to wonder if this team is actually going to be a threat in the playoffs, and I do see their side of things.
But I guess we shouldn't have to worry about that right now, as the Broncos won, moved to 10-2, and, for the time being, are atop the AFC once again. They join the New England Patriots as the other double-digit win team in the NFL, and the AFC West just got that much closer as well.
There is something to say, though, about this sloppy, poor, yucky performance on primetime...