Things were not easy for the Denver Broncos in the Big Easy on Sunday.
After starting the game with a touchdown on their opening drive, the Broncos crashed back to earth quickly, and it looked like they could be in big trouble late.
Despite leading 10-0, turnovers, a stagnant offense and a high-powered New Orleans offense looked like it could spell doom for the Broncos. But as if often the case with this Denver Broncos team, they seem to find a way to come through when the game is on the line.
Trevor Siemian led a game-tying touchdown drive, the defense came through with back-to-back stops, and Denver regained a shaky six-point fourth quarter lead.
But with 1:32 remaining, Drew Brees connected with Brandin Cooks on a 32-yard touchdown to tie the game.
The Broncos were reeling, and the extra point might finish them off.
Enter the rookie safety duo of rookie safeties Justin Simmons and Will Parks.
Simmons leaped over the line of scrimmage and blocked what would have been the winning point. Parks scooped up the loose ball and returned it for the score, giving the Broncos an improbable one-point lead.
It wasn’t always pretty, and it certainly wasn’t the way that you would draw up a victory, but the Broncos eked out another win to push their record to 7-3.
Here are the MVPs and LVPs from a strange, but memorable game:
MVPs
Facing a New Orleans Saints offense that has been a bit stingy about turning the ball over, Darian Stewart was Johnny On the Spot, for the Denver Broncos.
Through his first eight games, Brees had thrown just five interceptions. Stewart managed to pick him off twice in the first half alone on Sunday.
And with the Broncos trailing 17-10 in the third quarter, Stewart caught a loose ball that was fumbled by Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas to set up the Denver offense with good field position.
Stewart has been a free agent steal since signing with Denver last season.
His play on Sunday gave a huge spark to a team that desperately needed one.
He hasn’t been horrible this year, but DT has hardly looked like a franchise player, with just 47 catches and four touchdowns through nine games.
But on Sunday, Thomas looked like the guy the Broncos were hoping he would be when they signed him to that big deal in 2015.
Thomas made eight catches for 87 yards and came down with a touchdown catch over a Saints defender to give the Broncos a fourth quarter lead.
And when the Saints tried a desperation onside kick to close the game, it was Demaryius that came up with the important recovery to seal the victory.
Wade Phillips back on the sideline
Maybe it was just a coincidence that last week with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips up in the box that the Denver defense allowed nearly 400 yards to the Oakland Raiders.
Phillips had suffered a broken rib in Week 8 against the San Diego Chargers when he was run over by a Charger offensive player.
But Phillips returned to the sideline this week, and the Broncos held the No. 1 ranked offense, which averages 434 yards and 30.3 points per contest, to just 373 yards and 23 points on the road.
That doesn’t sound like a coincidence to us.
Will Parks’ shoes
Did Parks step out of bounds on his game-winning extra point return that gave the Broncos an improbable win?
It’s certainly possible, and maybe even probable.
Following the Simmons block, Parks scooped up the loose ball and sped down the sideline with a convoy of blockers ahead and beside him.
Yet, he seemed to lose track of just how close he was to the sideline, and despite not facing much opposition, he drifted right up against the boundary.
The Saints bench claimed he had stepped out right in front of them. The Broncos celebrated a bizarre last-second victory. And the instant replays were inconclusive, as Parks’ white shoes failed to show a conclusive angle on the white sideline marker.
Let’s all be glad the rookie went with the white shoes on Sunday, or the outcome of the game may have been very different.
LVPs
The offensive line
It’s easy to blame Trevor Siemian for his turnovers and the mediocrity of the Denver offense, but this offensive line is currently a collection of turnstiles.
On Sunday, Siemian was sacked six times by a Saints defensive front that has just 11 sacks on the entire season!
And despite the Saints allowing nearly 109 yards of rushing per game, the Broncos run game squeaked out just 103 and was rendered completely ineffective in short-yardage situations.
It makes no difference who is under center; if this unit doesn’t improve, the Broncos offense is going to continue to struggle
The missed opportunities
Early on it felt like the Broncos should be blowing the Saints out. They had forced two turnovers in the first half, and had held the high-powered Saints offense to just 95 yards.
But shoddy execution by the Broncos offense, and an ill-advised interception by Siemian late in the second quarter left the Broncos with just a 10-3 halftime lead.
You might get away with that against a team like the 4-5 Saints, but the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs are coming.
The Broncos need to finish drives.
The offensive play calling on the Broncos final drive
With less than four minutes to play, the Broncos were clinging to a three-point lead.
When defensive lineman Jared Crick jarred the ball loose from Michael Thomas and T.J. Ward recovered the fumble, it looked like the game could be over.
Yet two runs netted just two yards, and on third down Siemian threw a low percentage fade route to Emmanuel Sanders that had no chance of being completed, stopping the clock.
The Broncos would settle for a 37-yard field goal from Brandon McManus.
With the Saints burning their remaining timeouts, the entire three-play series consumed a whopping 18 seconds of game clock, and gained just two yards.
That’s the kind of play calling that allowed the Saints to come right back and tie it up on the ensuing drive.
Fortunately, it didn’t cost the Broncos the game.
