Broncos Scrape Through In Sunday Night Stinkfest
By Rob Ward
Winning ugly is part and parcel of the NFL – but try telling that to your old mate Wardy, who stayed up late to watch the Broncos stumble past the 49ers in a game that the returning Jimmy G will soon want to forget…
Well, here we are again. Three first round picks, a shoulder surgery and a fractured ankle later, handsome Jimmy Garoppolo is the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
The drama that has followed Jimmy G since he walked into the building at Santa Clara looks set to play out a fascinating epilogue in 2022. The 49ers bet the house on Trey Lance making the leap in his second year, but one devastating play later and those plans are up in smoke. If the 9ers were looking for optimism in Denver on Sunday night, they emphatically found none.
The Broncos have had their own concerns. They too traded away good draft capital to add a final piece to what they consider a Super Bowl roster. Russell Wilson, a man known for making big plays through improvisation, has been married to first year head coach Nathaniel Hackett. The former Jaguars and Packers offensive co-ordinator is trying to fit Wilson into his offensive system, but Wilson has always been a solo artist. The returns through the first two weeks have been alarming.
After SNF, none of those questions are going away.
AIYUUUUUUK! 🙌#FTTB strike first in Denver. #SFvsDEN on NBC and @peacock. pic.twitter.com/g0XUvQuGFG
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 26, 2022
The game started with 3 & outs before a Brandon Aiyuk TD and a nice looking Niners drive. It was a false dawn. More three & outs. Broncos fans booing their offense mercilessly. More nothing. A field goal. More nothing. Half Time. I started making notes on what was happening on each down. I gave up after 5 minutes.
By the third quarter, Mike Tirico had had enough.
“This is bad tonight” he blurted out.
“I’m out of words” came Chris Collinsworth’s defeated reply.
Everyone watching agreed.
The second half went from the ridiculous to the absurd. Tight game Jimmy showed up. He ran out of his own endzone on a throw that gave up 2 points via a safety. The 9ers lost by 1. It must rank very highly in a list of single most boneheaded plays in the history of the league. He threw a ball way out ahead of Deebo into triple coverage that was picked. Kyle Shanahan’s beard got greyer. Penny for his thoughts right now.
Russell Wilson finally conjured up a drive that many 9ers fans will be familiar with from his days in Seattle. A bit of scrambling, unscripted wizardry (well, that might be a bit much in the context of this game) and Mevin Gordon ran it in. There was still time for some more nothing and then a Jimmy G fumble preceded one from Jeff Wilson, and Denver had sealed the win that somehow moved them to 2-1 and joint first in the AFC West. The division we christened ‘group of death’ in the summer isn’t exactly inspiring at the end of September.
Great offenses can be overwhelmed by great defenses for sure. The Broncos should know; under Peyton Manning they were blown out in Super Bowl against Seattle’s Legion of Boom. And sure, these defenses are excellent units against both pass and run.
Watching a top defense making big plays can be its own form of entertainment. That wasn’t the case last night. This was just a game of bad throws. They happened frequently. Over receivers, behind receivers, in a mix up with receivers. There was no offensive chemistry save some nice plays in the pair of touchdown drives. I resist hyperbole where I can, but I don’t think it will be a stretch to suggest you won’t see a worse match of football for the rest of the season. It was miserable.
On the plus side, I became very well acquainted with Corliss Waitman and Mitch Wishnowsky, the punters for the Broncos and 9ers respectively. There were some fun plays stopping punts on the one-yard line. Can you hear me reaching?
Jimmy Garoppolo literally putting his foot down against racism.
— Barry (@BarryOnHere) September 26, 2022
That's my GOAT. pic.twitter.com/yzrxnQ6Us8
As bad as Garoppolo looked – and it was bad – it’s important to remember he had been throwing balls in an empty field after being frozen out by the organisation earlier this year. The organisation is in a brutal spot, with no answers – based on one match played in a monsoon and a couple of drives against the Seahawks – as to whether Lance is their guy. A week on from losing their starting quarterback, they lost the best left tackle in football. Trent Williams exited with what turned out to be a high ankle sprain, something that can keep players out for up to two months.
Positives for the Broncos? They got the win. The defense looks for real. There were no problems telling the time. The cameras were frequently cutting to an old guy in the coaches boxes (assistant coach Jerry Rosburg), who the Broncos had dug out of retirement to watch the clock. He did it well. Maybe he’ll get a promotion this week.
If either fanbase was hoping to leave SNF with their offensive fears allayed, they were left disappointed over a span of three hours of football that none of us will ever get back.
Fantasy Fallout
If you have Russell Wilson you’ll probably play the “it must get better next week” game for another week, or two, or three… Yes, he came to life on the winning drive in the fourth quarter, but he is really struggling out there. It might be worth having a peek on the waiver wire and forming a contingency play.
Melvin Gordon clearly isn’t going away so Javonte is still capped at RB2 value, though he will face weaker run defenses than the 9ers. Wilson and Sutton have a connection, Wilson and Jeudy less so. There were frequent misfires last night.
Jeff Wilson was the lead running back for the 49ers, ripping off a couple of big runs; he’s managed to get in and around 10 points both starts and that is without a TD. He should be fine as a flex, but the lack of scoring opportunity (unless there is a marked improvement) will hurt him. That last point remains true of all three pass catchers, though Kittle probably has a 150 yard game around the corner.
ROB WARD
NFL/Fantasy Football Enthusiast
ROB IS A LOVER OF ALL THINGS 49ERS AND HOST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST IN WHICH HE, SIMON CARROLL AND SAM AKROYD BUTT-FUMBLE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE WORLD OF THE NFL. AWAY FROM SPORT, ROB IS A PROFESSIONAL WRITER AND PERFORMER. HIT HIM UP ON TWITTER @ROBWARDRW!