No more “death by inches” was the rallying cry of first-year head coach Vic Fangio.
But, for a third straight week, the Denver Broncos died by inches — by their mistakes large and small — in the 27-16 loss against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday.
For most of the first half, the Broncos were tied with the much better Packers, on the road nonetheless. Then, it happened.
Joe Flacco was rushed, sacked and fumbled deep in Denver territory, setting the Pack up with a gimme touchdown. Then, after a superb double-move and deep pass from Joe Flacco to Courtland Sutton, that momentum was halted when Noah Fant had the ball ripped away by a Packers defender.
Death by inches? Definitely.
These Broncos are terrible, they’re not even competitive, let alone trying to iron out all the details as the “death by inches” mantra seems to suggest. These guys aren’t finishing tackles, they’re not holding onto the ball nor holding their blocks (without being called for penalties).
On the must-have-a-touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, trailing by 11, Elijah Wilkinson allowed two sacks and Phillip Lindsay dropped a low pass on third down which would’ve meant a conversion. Instead, the Broncos gave the ball over to the Packers on downs and their hopes of winning, with little more that two minutes on the clock remaining, vanished.
Death by inches. It’s what we saw on Sunday afternoon, and it’s what we’ve seen all season long so far.
The Packers sacked Joe Flacco six times on Sunday. Garett Bolles was called for four holding penalties in one game against the Bears. Chicago made the Broncos look like a joke on the offensive and defensive lines. That absolute laugher of a season-opener against one of the worst teams in football, the Oakland Raiders. There was no offense for nearly the entire game, until it was too little, too late.
Shoot, this isn’t even “death by inches” anymore. It’s death by a mile.
These Broncos are now 0-3 on the season, and 0-2 was a 20-year low. Now, it’s been 25 years — 1994 and the year before Mike Shanahan became head coach — since Denver started this badly. There’s basically no way these Broncos make the playoffs, so let those hopes and well wishes evaporate into the mile high air.
If you’re a Broncos realist and not one of those fans that sees everything through orange-tinted glasses, you saw this coming. These Broncos already missed the playoffs the last three seasons, and even with a new leader in Fangio — who is an upgrade on Vance Joseph — there were going to be growing pains.
But, zero sacks — from Von Miller and Bradley Chubb and Shelby Harris — along with zero turnovers in three games? This is getting a bit ridiculous.
Denver’s defense is mostly stacked with Pro Bowl caliber talent. Besides Miller, Chubb and Harris, there’s Chris Harris and Kareem Jackson, and if ever healthy Bryce Callahan too.
With the way this season is shaping up — even with the Broncos going all in on the expensive one-year-and-see deal with Joe Flacco — Denver will have wasted four straight seasons of both Miller’s and Chris Harris’ prime. That’s inexcusable considering both Miller and Harris will be, at the very least, Ring of Famers. Miller is already arguably a Hall of Famer already and still has a handful of prime seasons remaining.
Well, probably. Zero sacks through three games for him is definitely concerning. Zero picks by Harris is, too.
Even with Flacco and the expensive additions of Ja’Wuan James and Callahan and the drafting of a tight end (whoops) in the first round and everything else John Elway and the front office did this season; it was all for naught.
Next week, the Broncos face the Jaguars and, honestly, it doesn’t matter if they win or lose. Denver will need a comeback all season long even John Elway himself couldn’t construct because Elway didn’t construct Fangio a team worth a damn.
So, almost before this season even began, it’s over.
Because on Sunday, this team died by inches, died by a mile, they were dead on arrival to Green Bay. And that will almost certainly continue all season long.
