There was semi-chaos on the Las Vegas sideline late in Sunday’s season finale against the Broncos as coach Jon Gruden and his staff contemplated going for the winning two-point conversion or kicking to force the worst of all sins — overtime in Week 17.
There was Gruden looking at his play sheet and talking to his assistants over the headphones.
There was quarterback Derek Carr looking to the sideline and waving in the play call and/or personnel.
There was the real possibility of a delay-of-game penalty, which would have sent out the kicking unit.
“Fortunately, really for us, they used a timeout that they could’ve used at the end of the game,” Gruden said later.
By “they,” Gruden means Broncos coach Vic Fangio, who used his final timeout, handing the Raiders the bailout they needed.
“We wanted to make sure we knew exactly who they had in there and how we wanted to play it,” Fangio said. “We thought it was more valuable, at that time, to use the timeout. I would have liked to save it, obviously, but the game was coming down to that two-point play.”
Given 30 seconds to catch their collective breath, Las Vegas took advantage. Carr completed the two-point conversion pass to tight end Darren Waller to cap a 32-31 victory at an empty Empower Field at Mile High.
That final timeout would have come in handy because the Broncos quickly crossed midfield, but with no way to stop the clock, Fangio sent out Brandon McManus for a 63-yard field goal attempt that was blocked with two seconds remaining.
Game over — the Raiders completed the season sweep.
And season over — the Broncos finished 5-11, last in the AFC West for the second time in four years.
Way back in Week 1, Fangio was criticized for not slowing the game down with timeouts as Tennessee marched for the winning score.
Fast forward to Sunday when his use of timeouts was placed under the microscope along with veteran running back Melvin Gordon twice running out of bounds before the Raiders’ final drive.
Translation: The Broncos are just good enough to beat bad teams (none of their five wins came over playoff teams) and just bad enough to lose games when they are plus-4 in turnover differential and have a six-point lead with 1:47 remaining and the opponent out of timeouts.
Go away, 2020 season.
“Emotion-wise, it’s a disappointment,” defensive end Dre’Mont Jones said. “It was a rivalry game and for them to beat us 2-0 kind of (stinks).”
Same for the Broncos’ season. It kind of stunk.
Another slow start (0-3). Some mid-season optimism (3-4 after the win over the Los Angeles Chargers). And an inability to win nail-biters in December/January (1-4 in one-possession games).
The Broncos finished with 11 losses for the second time in four years. For decades around these parts, that kind of futility was reserved for their opponents. From 1990-2016, they had only two seasons of at least 11 losses — 4-12 in 1990 and 5-11 in 2010.
But the New Normal for the Broncos is a losing record and watching the playoffs from their home or favorite vacation spot and talking up the importance of an offseason program months away.
The loss did have two benefits, though. The Broncos will have a top-10 draft pick if they stay put on draft night and they will play rebuilding teams in Jacksonville and the New York Jets due to their last-place status instead of Houston and New England.
Savor the small victories, Broncos fans.
Las Vegas’ comeback overshadowed quarterback Drew Lock’s first turnover-free game of the season (along with 339 yards passing) and receiver Jerry Jeudy’s 92-yard touchdown catch with 6:29 remaining, a nice moment of atonement for him after five dropped passes last week.
“That one slipped away from us,” Lock said. “It could have been a great way to finish out and go out on a high note.”
Instead, another low note in a season full of them.
Leave it to this Broncos team to accomplish something for the first time in 33 years. For only the third time in franchise history, the Broncos lost a game in which they were at least plus-4 in turnover differential.
“You usually don’t lose games like that,” Jones said.
No, you don’t.
The Broncos were plus-5 in a 30-19 loss to Buffalo in 1964 and plus-4 in a 34-27 loss at Minnesota in 1987. In the NFL, it was only the fifth time since 2008 that a team lost despite such a significant turnover differential.
The Broncos’ offense failed to fully capitalize on three of the takeaways.
Forced fumble by cornerback Michael Ojemudia at the Raiders 26: Missed field goal.
Interception by safety Justin Simmons at the Raiders’ 37: Field goal.
Forced fumble by Ojemudia at the Raiders 34: Touchdown (Gordon 10-yard run).
Interception by safety Kareem Jackson at the Raiders’ 31: Punt.
Still, the Broncos were in prime position after Jeudy’s touchdown catch — the longest by the team since 2008 — and Las Vegas’ subsequent three-and-out. The Broncos took over with 2:46 left. But the clock kept stopping … and stopping … and stopping. Gordon ran out of bounds on consecutive plays (2:34 and 2:19 remaining). Lock was sacked for a four-yard loss.
Las Vegas got the ball back at the 1:47 mark and made quick work. Carr completed passes of 37, 10 and 21 yards to move to the Broncos’ 9. On fourth down, following a justified Fangio timeout, Josh Jacobs scored a one-yard touchdown.
After Fangio gave Gruden and Co. a reprieve with the ill-advised timeout, Waller ran a quick slant for the two-point conversion.
The Broncos could have used the final timeout on the final drive. Lock threw 25 yards to Jeudy and after five yards were added because Las Vegas wouldn’t let the football be spotted, the Broncos were at the Raiders 45.
Lock threw incomplete and the clock was at nine seconds. Fangio opted to send McManus out for the field goal, which was blocked.
Not wanting to survey the wreckage of another loss, the Broncos chose to look forward.
“There is definitely optimism,” Lock said. “In my eyes, I look at a team that started off really young and kept growing as the year went along. I’m excited to grow with these guys and make the offseason the best months of my life coming into next season.”
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