Dud No. 1 – Brandon McManus
Give Brandon McManus this much: He didn’t miss his last kick.
In overtime, McManus put a 37-yarder straight through the uprights and forced the Bengals to put points on the board if they wanted the game to continue. They did not, and it did not. But that was a small redemption for McManus who missed a potential game-winning kick with time expiring in regulation.
The miss was his fifth missed placekick (four FGs and one PAT) in as many weeks and this time came at what could have been a back-breaking juncture. Reeling after consecutive losses, Denver could ill-afford to drop a third straight and lose the tiebreaker over the Bengals. What’s more, the surging Chiefs are now on Denver’s back bumper, hoping for a stumble so they can claim the AFC West title.
McManus had a chance to lock up the playoffs, stay in the No. 2 seed and keep pace with Kansas City with one kick. Not only did he miss, he missed by what many national observers called the worst kick they had ever seen.
After the game McManus said he won’t lose confidence in himself, but with five straight games with a miss, you have to wonder if Gary Kubiak will at some point.
