The Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts put on a game more stale than 10-year old cereal for Week 5's Thursday Night matchup. This is easily the worst display of football I’ve seen in years...
First off, sorry to anyone who followed my advice on the prop bets this week. If you took the ‘Under’ on Matt Ryan, you were beaten by just 20 passing yards. But the sad fact is: if these two sides weren’t so damn boring - taking it to overtime after 6 measly field goals - that bet would have won… Tragic.
Now, we could talk about the 4 interceptions, 0 touchdowns, 12 punts, 6 fumbles, 10 sacks and 25 third-down stops from last night, but I’d like to focus on what was by far the worst play of the game.
Ex-Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was well-below average all night long. Lowlights include: throwing a red zone pick to Stephon Gilmore late in the fourth quarter, finding Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy just 8 times and a QB rating of 54.9. But the worst moment of his mediocre performance was an imitation of the infamous mistake that cost Seattle the win in Super Bowl 49.
Even Richard Sherman is having flashbacks to Marshawn Lynch not getting the hand off:
Richard Sherman almost had a stroke “run the damn ball” pic.twitter.com/m0hbrBYWFR
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 7, 2022
On 4th & 1, in overtime, they elected to go for the win rather than settling for the tie with a chip-shot field goal. I respect it. BUT JUST RUN THE BALL! I mean, the only thing that had been working for Denver all game was Melvin Gordon (and Brandon McCanus’ kicking leg of course). Instead, the Broncos tried to pass it and Wilson missed perhaps the most obvious throw of the game.
Any avid football fan will know that when you’re running a ‘Rub Route’ concept against man coverage, it’s very likely one of the receivers will be open. And guess what? KJ Hamler, was in acres of space for an easy touchdown, and Russ didn’t even take a glance in that direction.
For the $245 million, 3 players and 5 picks that he cost the Broncos, Russell Wilson is starting to look like the biggest bust of the year. Take a look at No.1 on the right of the field - this really is the simplest of throws…
As usual #Broncos Russell Wilson needs one yard and can’t convert. #Colts win. pic.twitter.com/VAzinGz714
— NFL Unlimited (@NFLUnlimited) October 7, 2022
We wanted to win the game. We hadn't moved the ball very well the whole night and I thought we had a spectacular drive to get all the way down there.
Nathaniel Hackett (Broncos Head Coach)
Now, if you want highlights, there's really nowhere else to look other than the 7 field goals scored last night - they were the only points on the board. Chase McLaughlin hit one from 31 yards to tie things up, and another to secure the lead in overtime. That's as interesting as it gets.
The Colts tie this awful game 9-9... and Broncos fans head for the exits instead of staying for overtime. 🏈😂#TNF pic.twitter.com/h6KxxHs8qr
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 7, 2022
An excuse for the Denver loss could come from their injuries, as LB Josey Jewell, CB Ronald Darby, DE Dre’Mont Jones, LB Baron Browning and Garret Bolles all left the field after taking knocks. But as soon as you factor in the Colts missing the league's top running back of 2021, Jonathan Taylor, it pretty much evens out.
I've said plenty bad about Wilson's performance and trust me, he deserves it, but Matt Ryan was no shining star either. After getting sacked six times (making it 21 this year), throwing a pair of interceptions to Caden Sterns and fumbling for the 10th time in 5 games, Ryan could do nothing other than thank his defense for the 12-9 win. Let's face it - it's not like he had a choice...
Our defense played lights out... Wins are what we need. We're right in the mix. I thought the two drives at the end showed a lot of guts. You just keep battling — and it helps when your defense is shutting them down, too.
Matt Ryan
The Colts go 2-2-1, the Broncos go 2-3 and the rest of us go back to sleep...
