NASHVILLE – For about 27 minutes of football on the shores of the Cumberland River, the Broncos tried to convince the world – and perhaps themselves – that they emerged from their bye week poised for a second-half surge.
Russell Wilson threw a 66-yard touchdown to an undrafted rookie and the Broncos' defense smothered Tennessee running back Derrick Henry. The visitors' lead edged to 10 points and for a moment, perhaps, Denver fans wondered about things like winning streaks and wild card standings.
Football games, though, are not 27 minutes long and seasons aren't measured by close losses. By the time the Titans prevailed, 17-10, the beginning of the finishing nine-game stretch felt all too familiar — rather than like a fresh start.
"It's been five or six games or so that have been one-score games," Wilson said. "I've got to find a way to get us two more touchdowns. We've got to find a way to get two more touchdowns per game."
The Broncos hoped their bye week would help them eradicate some of the ills that hampered them over the season's first eight games.
Instead, Denver looked a spitting image of its first-half self: Offensively limited, penalty prone, injury riddled and overly reliant on a defense that is good enough to keep this team in pretty much every game and not good enough to do the entire job by itself.
"We were doing some things in that first half again," Hackett said. "Third down continually gets us. We've got to keep mixing it up as much as we can. We had to throw some guys in there and I loved watching them battle. … We've got to find a way to protect Russ and we've got to run the ball (better)."
That answer from the first-year head coach was in response to a question about Sunday's game in particular, though it could have just as well served as a 2022 overview.
Over the first eight games of the season Denver converted a woeful 29.2% of its third-down tries. Against the Titans, Wilson and company started 4-of-8 but then failed on their final 9 tries.
Denver over the first eight games went boom or bust on offense far too often, with bust coming up too frequently. Against the Titans, the Broncos' offense put 121 yards and 10 points on the board in back-to-back second-quarter possessions but otherwise punted nine times and turned the ball over once on their other 10 non-kneel-down drives.
Courtland Sutton (14) of the Denver Broncos makes a first-down catch against the Terrance Mitchell (39) of the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter of the Titans' 17-10 win at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Denver over the first eight games of the season led the NFL in penalties and penalty yardage and committed eight more for 50 yards against Tennessee, including four false starts from four different offensive players.
Denver over the first eight games of the season scored just 10 offensive points in the third quarter. Against the Titans, they punted three times in the second half and gained just 51 yards.
Denver's injury issues started all the way back in training camp and have continued on seemingly a weekly basis. Not only did the Broncos not get many players back over the bye week, but wide receiver KJ Hamler and tight end Andrew Beck dropped out during the practice week with hamstring injuries and four more players left Sunday's game and didn't return.
"It's been kind of crazy to see some of our guys go down as much as they have," Wilson said.
The Denver Broncos defense piles on Derrick Henry (22) of the Tennessee Titans after he was stopped for no gain during the fourth quarter of the Titans' 17-10 win at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Denver's defense through eight games has been among the NFL's best, but also operates with next to no margin for error given the team entered Week 10 averaging 15.1 points allowed per game.
Against the Titans, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero emptied his playbook to slow down Henry and stifle Tennessee. He played three inside linebackers. He played one safety. He stood Dre'Mont Jones up in the type of edge role Bradley Chubb occupied before getting shipped to Miami. Tennessee managed only 46 yards on its first 22 snaps, but then Ryan Tannehill engineered a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that finished with a nine-yard pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (five catches, 119 yards, two touchdowns) with nine seconds left in the half.
It only drew Tennessee within three, but once the air started leaking out of Denver's balloon, it didn't stop.
If ever there was a visual for this year's Broncos, perhaps it was cornerback Damarri Mathis, a backup starting because Ronald Darby tore his ACL, tripping and taking out P.J. Locke, a third-stringer starting because Justin Simmons is hurt and Caden Sterns is on injured reserve. The mixup resulted in a 63-yard flea-flicker Tennessee touchdown in the third quarter. So much good work from the Broncos' defense and one mistake, essentially, put Tennessee up 14-10 and in the lead for good.
Russell Wilson (3) of the Denver Broncos reacts after closing his eyes and firing an interception to Terrance Mitchell (39) of the Tennessee Titans in the end zone to cap the game during the fourth quarter of the Titans' 17-10 win at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
In the second half Sunday, Wilson was sacked or hit 13 times in 27 dropbacks and fumbled twice while adjusting to his third-string center, Luke Wattenberg. Denver had just five first downs on its first five second-half possessions before Wilson led a 50-yard, last-gasp march to try to tie the game in the waning seconds. That trip ended in a fourth-and-8 interception in which Wilson scrambled and then overthrew Courtland Sutton in the middle of the field.
The Broncos finished 25 yards shy of the end zone, but are nowhere close to where they need to be.
"The crazy thing about it is, that's a playoff football team we played there," Wilson said. "We should be one, too. We haven't played like it at all."
Third quarter blues
Starting with Week 1 in Seattle, when two long drives produced zero points due to a pair of goal-line fumbles, the Broncos offense has struggled to score coming out of halftime. In fact, entering Sunday's game at Tennessee, they were last in the NFL in touchdowns scored (1) and yards gained per play (3.98) in the third quarter. That pattern continued in their 17-10 loss to the Titans:
Opponent | Drives | Plays | Yards* | Pts | Result |
at Seattle | 2 | 15 | 109 | 0 | L, 17-16 |
vs. Houston+ | 3 | 10 | 50 | 0 | W, 16-9 |
vs. San Francisco | 4 | 20 | 40 | 0 | W, 11-10 |
at Las Vegas | 3 | 11 | 7 | 0 | L, 32-23 |
vs. Indianapolis | 4 | 23 | 113 | 3 | L, 12-9 |
at L.A. Chargers | 2 | 11 | 19 | 0 | L, 19-16 |
vs. N.Y. Jets | 4 | 16 | 66 | 0 | L, 16-9 |
vs. Jacksonville | 2 | 12 | 92 | 7 | W, 21-17 |
at Tennessee | 3 | 18 | 51 | 0 | L, 17-10 |
* Includes penalty yardage | + Includes drive that ended with TD in fourth quarter
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