12/23/2020
The Broncos hosted the Buffalo Bills on Saturday afternoon in Denver. The Bills have quietly become the NFL’s sleeper team this season with a 10-3 record before Saturday’s game.
The Bills were coming off an upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday at home, a team that was undefeated up until the first week of December. The Bills only losses this season had come at the hands of the Phoenix Cardinals, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans, all teams that will have spots in the post-season. Denver, however, was in the hunt for a wildcard spot and beating a red-hot Bills was their only chance.
Halfway into Saturday’s game the Broncos appeared to still have somewhat of a chance, that was until the Josh Allen-led Bills marched down a short field into the end-zone to increase their lead by 15. They didn’t stop there, because on the first play of the ensuing Denver drive, quarterback Drew Lock was strip-sacked for a 21-yard recovered fumble touchdown that put the Bills up 34-13 in the first five minutes of the second half.
From there the dumpster-fire turned into a 27-alarm blaze that Denver’s offense and defense had no answer for. The Bills added an additional field goal to their third quarter cushion before their final 10 points in the fourth to beat the Broncos by a margin of 29 points (48-19).
While no one really expected the Broncos to make the playoffs this season, since they’ve failed to do so since their Super Bowl win in 2015, many were hoping that Lock and the Broncos would have put up a much more affective fight then what was on display Saturday afternoon.
Next week the Broncos will head to the West Coast to face divisional foes, the L.A. Chargers for the battle of the basement, as both teams are 5-9. The Chargers are on a two-game winning streak with wins over the Las Vegas Raiders, on Thursday night and the Atlanta Falcons, two teams the Broncos have also lost to this season.
The Broncos currently hold the tie-breaker with their earlier win over the Chargers this season, however, the Chargers can move above the Broncos with a win this Sunday in L.A.
The Denver Nuggets finished their third and last preseason game last Friday with a dominating win over the Portland Trailblazers 129-96. The Nuggets begin the regular season this Wednesday when they host the Sacramento Kings. This Friday, Christmas Day, the Nuggets will host the L.A. Clippers and then will host the Houston Rockets on Monday.
Though the NBA has limited the preseason schedule the Nuggets will continue to look at potential lineups in the up and coming weeks. The Nuggets are a young and talented team, so don’t be surprised to see a significant change in the lineups while they tweak changes to accomplish a productive and winning squad.
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