By: Brandon Rivera
Game one for the Broncos was a test to gauge their readiness for one of the toughest divisions in NFL his- tory. That test was on primetime, Monday Night Football in front of thousands of Seahawks fans at Lumen Field, where boos rang down on their previous quarterback Russell Wilson once he took the field.
Monday night’s game was a continuation of follies from games that took place over the weekend. Turnovers were Denver’s biggest issue. Two fumbles at the one-yard line were two of the Broncos most glairing issues with both running backs, Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams coughing up the ball at crucial moments in the game.
The two combined for a total of 103 yards on the ground on 19 attempts averaging 5.5 yards a carry. Russell Wilson maintained a passer rating above 100 with 29 completions on 42 attempts for 340 yards and one touchdown. However, Wilson’s return to Seattle was spoiled by Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith who completed 23 passes on 28 attempts for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
Denver’s bread and butter defense stood up most of the game but also gave up too many third downs for first downs, while Seattle dominated the time of possession.
While Monday’s game seemed like a must win for the Broncos, the atmosphere and crowd at Lumen field were obvious factors in Denver’s loss.
The last drive of the game started with 4:02 to play and for some Denver fans they felt like they had a chance. It took Wilson and the Broncos two minutes to move the ball 16 yards against Seattle’s stingy defense.
With two minutes to play and the Broncos having all three timeouts remaining it looked as if a win was almost inevitable. Wilson threw a quick pass to Javonte Williams on third down for 9 yards with almost a whole minute to play. Neither Wilson nor the sideline opted for a timeout until the clocked clicked down to 20 seconds remaining.
To everyone’s surprise, including Brandon McManus, coach Hackett opted for a field goal instead of a chance at getting the first down. This drew the ire of fans as McManus lined up for a 64-yard field goal with drifted wide left.
While game one was a loss for the Broncos, the experience they gained in one of the NFL’s most hostile environments is one that can take with them on the road this season.
The Broncos are back at home next Sunday to host the Houston Texans at 2:25 p.m.
In other sports the Colorado Rockies won two games to on in their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend. This week they are in Chicago to face both the White Sox and the Cubs for five games.
