There’s no way around it. Sunday’s loss to the Oakland Raiders was the worst of the year. Forget Peyton Manning‘s second spoiled homecoming in Indianapolis or his four-interception day against Kansas City. A 15-12 loss to the Raiders after holding Oakland to -12 total yards in the first half is about as bad as it gets.
The Broncos sat in the driver’s seat for the AFC after watching the Pittsburgh Steelers steamroll the Cincinnati Bengals in an early game. Instead of finding high gear, the Broncos offense slipped the clutch and let victory and the No. 1 seed go speeding by in the form of the New England Patriots.
Denver’s offense stalled out, being held scoreless in the second half for the second consecutive week. Instead of entering a crucial Week 15 trip to Pittsburgh with a four-game winning streak in tow, the Broncos are leaking fluids just trying to keep the car on the road.
But enough with the automotive metaphors. It’s time to dissect the best and worst performances of the week. It’s a mostly dud-filled list in this week’s edition of “Studs and Duds.”
Honorable Mention Dud No. 1 – Brandon McManus
This is by no means a call for Connor Barth. Denver’s former placekicker is 3-for-6 on attempts of 40-49 yards this season.
But Brandon McManus has now missed a field goal try in each of his last three games and is again starting to show why Denver had to call for reinforcements in 2014.
McManus has the leg. His 49-yard miss in the fourth quarter on Sunday had plenty of distance and kept the upright rattling for some time after the ball clanked squarely off it. But McManus was again off his mark and this time it mattered.
He was bailed out with misses against New England and San Diego. After nailing four in a row in the first half, he needed a make in a high-pressure situation against Oakland. Missing a potential game-tying kick showed that he might not have the mettle everyone hoped he’d developed between last year and now.
Honorable Mention Dud No. 2 – Demaryius Thomas
Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is catching a fair amount of heat following three big gaffes against Oakland. As James Merilatt pointed out in his Daily column Monday, “…Thomas had a big drop in the first half at the goal line, a fumble in the third quarter that gave the Raiders great field position and a monster muffed pass late in the game that would’ve been a first down.”
But Thomas was a huge part of Denver’s first-half offense, posting 74 yards on seven catches, including a nifty catch on a deflected ball that very easily could have been an Oakland interception.
Thomas ended the day with 95 yards on 10 catches, no touchdowns and fumble. He came up empty in some big moments, but his mistakes weren’t the worst on the day.
Stud No. 3 – Von Miller
If the Broncos and Raiders had only played one half of football, there’s a good chance Miller would again be taking home our No. 1 “Stud” ranking yet again. But that’s why they play the whole game, as the saying goes.
Miller was disruptive again during the first 30 minutes, logging a sack, a tackle, a pass defended and forced fumble. The sack moved Miller into rare company as one of only 11 players in NFL with four 10-plus sack seasons in his first five years.
But credit the Oakland coaching staff for significant halftime adjustments. Miller compiled just two more tackles on the day, forcing no other big plays.
Like the rest of the Broncos, he left much to be desired in the second half.
Dud No. 3 – Vernon Davis
If there was an appropriate representation of how the Broncos day went on Sunday, it was Vernon Davis after the catch.
On at least three different occasions, Davis made a catch only to reverse course or break sharp laterally, never to return to the point of initial gain.
Even the CBS announcers couldn’t help but pile on Davis, at one point asking if he needed a GPS.
That wasn’t his worst offense, though. On Denver’s penultimate drive, needing to at least move into field goal range for a chance to tie the game, Davis dropped a wide-open, fourth-down pass that would have given the Broncos a first down and all kinds of momentum.
It was the kind of play Davis was brought to Denver to make and he came up empty, literally, in one of the game’s biggest moments.
Stud No. 2 – Malik Jackson
Another game, another Malik Jackson pass deflection.
In fact, Jackson had two against Oakland, moving him into first place among all defensive linemen in pass deflections.
Jackson added a pair of tackles, including one tackle for a loss.
Jackson is perhaps the most unassuming players on the Broncos defensive line, and he’s a strong supporter of Lucky 7 for Kids | Helping Hands for Freedom.
Sure, off-field efforts don’t mean a thing when it comes to on-field performance, but Jackson has been a star on both fronts all year. He was one of the few bright spots on Sunday.
Dud No. 2 – Emmanuel Sanders
When you wear shoes that are practically visible from the top of Pike’s Peak, you’re expected to walk the walk, so to speak.
Emmanuel Sanders did hardly that on Sunday.
Sanders finished the day with just two catches on six targets and had arguably the critical play of the day, a muffed punt in the fourth quarter that gave Oakland great field position and eventually the game-winning touchdown.
The most disconcerting thing, however, might have been his postgame comments about why the offense struggled so mightily in the second half:
“I guess just a lack of focus. We’ve just got to focus.”
For an offense that hadn’t scored a touchdown in five quarters, there’s no excuse for not being focused in the second half. Now that number sits at seven and counting.
Stud No. 1 – Semyon Varlamov
While most of Denver was watching the Broncos completely fall apart in the second half against Oakland, Semyon Varlamov was busy in St. Louis putting on one of the more impressive goaltending displays of the season.
Against the Blues, Varlamov made 42 saves in a 3-1 Colorado win. It was Varly’s third consecutive win and his fourth in five games.
Over that stretch, the Avs goaltender has made 160 saves and posted a stellar .958 save percentage. Three of those wins have come against division opponents, helping keep Colorado’s playoff hopes alive in the brutal Central Division, which boasts five of seven teams with .500 or better records.
Add in the fact that Colorado had just 18 shots on goal against St. Louis on Sunday and there’s no question that Varlamov was the biggest “Stud” on the day.
Dud No.1 – The Coaching Staff
Blame Michael Schofield (and Ryan Harris) all you want for Khalil Mack‘s five second-half sacks. But we’ve known since before training camp that Schofield (and Harris) were not going to be sufficient in protecting Denver’s quarterback, no matter who is behind center.
Schofield has struggled all year. Pro Football Focus has him producing just one game in ten with a positive rating. Harris has been a little better, as you might expect from an eighth-year player. But there’s a reason he was a street free agent when the Broncos signed him during training camp.
So it’s mind-boggling as to why the Broncos coaching staff would leave either Schofield or Harris in one-on-one matchups with Mack, especially after his second sack produced a safety in the end zone.
Just as they did with virtually no halftime adjustments to the offensive play calling or blitzing schemes, the Denver coaches continued with the same-old, same-old in protecting Brock Osweiler on the edges and they paid for it to the tune of five second-half sacks that in many ways proved to be the Broncos’ offensive undoing.
Denver has excellent blocking tight ends and backs. Why they weren’t used to keep Mack in check (at least as much as is possible with a player of his caliber) is beyond explanation.