Mile High Sports

Brock Osweiler shoulders the blame, though he’s hardly at fault

MHS Staff
There is a lot that advanced analytics has taught us about the Denver Broncos

Even when he loses, Brock Osweiler is finding a way to win. After a disastrous second half that saw the Broncos squander a 12-0 halftime lead and lose to the Oakland Raiders 15-12, Osweiler stood tall in the pocket and took the blame for the loss – just like he took five sacks from Khalil Mack on the day. The sacks were hardly his fault (in most cases), as was the loss, but Denver’s backup quarterback shouldered the blame like any good leader would.

On the day, Osweiler was 35 of 51 for 308 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Denver wide receivers had a handful of drops, including several that came at critical points late in the game. Demaryius Thomas dropped a third-down pass late in the fourth quarter when Denver was just starting to find momentum on an offense that had stalled out in the second half until that point. And Vernon Davis had another critical drop on a fourth down with under 1:30 to play.

Osweiler wasn’t perfect, though. With chances to put up touchdowns in the first half, Denver settled for three field goals after having the ball inside the Oakland 25, including a first-and-goal from the Oakland 2-yard line. His strip sack in the end zone in the second half was recovered by Max Garcia for a safety instead of a Raiders’ touchdown. Before that, Denver had gone three-and-out on three consecutive drives to open the second half. After posting 244 yards in the first half, Osweiler’s offense generated just 64 in the second half. Postgame, Osweiler put 100 percent of the blame on him.

Outside observers, though put much of the blame on the offensive line, who allowed five sacks, 11 tackles for loss and generated just 34 yards of rushing. Michael Schofield was completely owned by Khalil Mack who had all five of Oakland’s sacks and now leads the NFL. Denver was playing without Pro Bowl running back C.J. Anderson, who was hobbled last week against San Diego. Anderson was active, but did not see action. Ronnie Hillman, who was also on the injury report with a foot injury, was clearly not at 100 percent and Juwan Thompson was ineffective in his five carries.

Whether he remains the quarterback through the rest of this season or beyond, Osweiler’s words postgame show that he has the leadership qualities necessary for a long career in the NFL.

Here’s a look at what Osweiler said, via various Denver social media channels, compared to what others were saying about his play and the real cause for the loss…

Brock shoulders the blame…

But even Broncos greats say you can’t pin this one entirely on Brock…

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