It was about as predictable a finish to the season as Broncos faithful could have expected Sunday.

Denver lost in the final seconds of a one-point game against division rival Las Vegas Raiders because of poor clock management and instincts from head coach Vic Fangio.

Fangio called a timeout in the waning moments of a Raiders’ two-point attempt, helping the opposition reset and eventually convert the two points to defeat the Broncos.

But Fangio, who has already reportedly been told that he will be returning next season, feels he made the right call in that moment.

“We just wanted to make sure that we knew exactly who they had in there and how we wanted to play it,” Fangio said. “I thought it was more valuable at that time to use that timeout. I would have liked to save it obviously but the game at that point was coming down to that two-points or not.”

Fangio’s call also hurt the Broncos in their final drive after the fact. They needed one more timeout to set up for a potential game-winning 63-yard field goal from Brandon McManus. But were instead left without enough time on the clock.

Despite the disappointing end to a 5-11 season, Fangio has optimism heading into 2021. And that optimism stems from returning injured stars and young players that he feels has taken steps in the right direction.

“We have a lot of young players that got valuable playing time that will grow from this,” he said. “For them being able to watch cutups and film of themselves for 16 games, they will benefit from that greatly and we will have the second year of our offense that will let those guys grow even more.”

That offense includes quarterback Drew Lock, who threw for 339 yards, and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who erupted for 140 receiving yards to bounce back from a poor performance against the LA Chargers.

“I knew he would,” Fangio said of Jeudy’s bounceback performance. “I thought last week’s game could have been a defining moment for him that he needed to come back from and he obviously did.”

Whether a returning Von Miller, Courtland Sutton, and another year with the young players are enough to carry optimism into 2021 is anyone’s guess. But for Fangio, it’s enough for him to positively look ahead as the Broncos aim for their first postseason appearance since winning Super Bowl 50 almost five years ago.