By: Brandon Rivera
The league seemed to be just as curious as Denver Broncos fans about how they would fair this season. After two games, a loss and win, we’re no closer to knowing.
Sunday’s game wasn’t expected to be as close as it was and coach Nathaniel Hackett’s performance from the previous week was under scrutiny all week. This week’s performance has led some fans and critics to question his readiness as an NFL head coach.
Last week the Broncos lost what some might say was a must win game. The cliché’ “must win,” isn’t necessarily taken in a literal sense, as last week’s loss to the Seahawks was only the first game of the season, however; the “must win,” mentality comes more from games that are more winnable then not.
Does last week’s loss put the Broncos in a bad position at the moment? No, it was the first game of the season and with a 17 game schedule it was a fraction of what lies ahead for the Broncos.
This past weekend’s game with the Houston Texans however, was quite literally a must win. With the Broncos in arguably the toughest division in football every game away from the division hangs in the balance of a great division.
To add insult to injury, the Denver Broncos lost two key players at the start of their win over Houston on Sunday. Both first round picks, Jerry Jeudy and Patrick Surtain II exited Sunday’s game early and did not return. With Denver’s already struggling offense, the loss of Juedy was huge, but the Broncos offense found a way.
Denver’s defense has got many scratching their heads as the D, has been Denver’s greatest strength. In the first half of Sunday’s game the Broncos defense gave up significant yardage to Houston’s receiving corps who matched Denver’s receiving corps production with 93 yards in the first half. By the second half, Denver’s defense gave up 84 yards through the air and 80 yards on the ground.
The Broncos on paper dominated almost every stat from possession to third down efficiency, so why was the game so close? The answer was simply, Denver’s coaching woes. Denver’s new coaching staff now has two games under their belt yet fans are no closer to knowing if stability is in the cards for the Broncos this season.
This week the Broncos host a Trey Lance-less San Francisco 49ers that defeated the Seattle Seahawks 27-7 on Sunday. Yes the same Seattle Seahawks that beat the Broncos last week, 17-16. The Broncos went from being a 6-point favorite to a .05-point underdog in the span of one Sunday.
At this point the future of the season is unclear to fans as they struggle with the idea that Coach Hackett may not be able to hack it.
In other sports the Colorado Avalanche kick off the preseason this Sunday at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday at 2 p.m. The defending Stanley Cup Champions are less than a month away from the start of their regular season against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 12th at 7:30 p.m.
