There is a strong case to make that no team in football has had a worse special teams unit this season than the Denver Broncos. Darren Rizzi has been under constant fire this season, and for what feels like a different reason each week. Once again in Week 10, the Broncos' special teams unit laid a major dud to start a close game.
Punter Jeremy Crawshaw turned in his worst performance of the season on Thursday night, which was only amplified by two astonishing punts by AJ Cole for the Raiders. Broncos coverage has been suspect at best all season, and the only consistent performer on returns, Marvin Mims, is currently sidelined with a concussion. Rizzi's unit has definitely had its share of injuries and issues out of its control, but so has every other team in football.
If the Broncos' special teams had continued at the pace they were on heading into halftime, Rizzi might have been answering for his position heading into the mini-bye. Thankfully for him, one key special teams play flipped the momentum back around and potentially saved Rizzi's job. For a putrid special teams group, this could be the spark they needed to turn things around.
JL Skinner's blocked punt might have saved Darren Rizzi's job in Denver
Late in the third quarter, Broncos special teamer JL Skinner blocked a punt from Cole deep in Las Vegas territory, setting the Broncos up for what ended up as the winning score. After being the MVP for the first half of the game, Cole and his punt unit ended up costing the Raiders the game. This served as the biggest play of the game, and arguably of the season for Rizzi.
Considering how awful his unit was in the first half, Rizzi's seat could have gotten even hotter in the week-plus leading into Week 11. Crawshaw was atrocious, Will Lutz missed a field goal that is typically very makable for him, and the return game failed to spark anything positive. If it were not for Skinner's block, questions over who would be the Broncos' special teams coordinator going into Week 11 would have been incredibly loud during this extended gap between games.
Denver's special teams have been an issue all season in what has been a treacherous first season in Denver for Rizzi. While the likes of Lutz and Mims have still been elite, the rest of the unit has been subpar, to put it lightly. If the Broncos fail to make a deep run into the playoffs this season, all eyes will quickly turn to their special teams unit and the several plays they have failed to make this season. At least for now, Skinner's block gives them hope for positive momentum.