Well, while coining the phrase “Strike While the Iron is Hot”, I shall write this recap while the pain is fresh. The No. 1 Seed Denver Broncos were shocked at home in their first playoff game by the Baltimore Ravens, going down 38-35 in 2OT due to countless mistakes and missed opportunities.
The Broncos and their fans were confident heading into the first playoff game for the 2012-13 season, just like they should have been. The Broncos were 10 point favorites over the Ravens, and it proved to mean absolutely nothing. The Broncos allowed the Ravens to get 479 yards of total offense in what proved to be an insane back-and-forth battle.
There were 6 lead changes throughout the game, with the game once being tied at 7-7, 14-14, 21-21, 28-28, and 35-35. Neither team led by more than 7 points at any time in the game, and that proved to hurt the Broncos more than anything. The Broncos defense, which is built to play with a lead, never had a comfortable enough of a lead to unleash the likes of Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil for the pass rush. The Broncos only totaled one sack, which didn’t come until overtime. But the story of the game wasn’t just bad defensive play from the Broncos, but their offense had a lot of issues as well.
Aside from the many questionable play calls during the game, Peyton Manning and the offense didn’t help alleviate any of the pressure off of the defense. Peyton himself wound up being accountable for 4 turnovers just by himself (2 interceptions, 2 fumbles). Yes, the offense did have three drives that ended in touchdowns, but when the Broncos offense had the chance to push the lead to 10 or 14 points, a turnover would occur that kept the Ravens believing that they had a chance. Having the game being kept so close due to way too many miscues by the Broncos on both sides of the ball, the unthinkable happened.
Even with all of the horror of the game that had Broncos fans on eggshells, they still had a chance to close it out with a few first downs in the last few minutes of the game. The Broncos forced the Ravens to use their remaining timeouts and were one first down away from the AFC Championship Game. But on 3rd down and 7, a third consecutive run after the last Baltimore timeout was used, left 1:09 on the clock for the Ravens to work with to try and tie the game up and hopefully send it to overtime. On the third play of the hopeful-miracle drive for the Ravens, the 3rd down and 3 play would prove to be the play to have the word “unbelievable” spoken throughout Broncos fans at Sports Authority Field. On 3rd down and 3, Flacco would scramble in the pocket for a few seconds before heaving it down-field to what would wind up being a wide-open Jacoby Jones.
The 70-yard game-tying touchdown was one that never should have happened. Tony Carter had the corner coverage on Jones and Rahim Moore had the safety bracket help to ensure an incompletion. Tony Carter was out-run by Jones, and Moore let Jones get behind him as Moore jumped seconds too early as he was going for the interception. Moore made the deadly mistake letting Jones get behind him down-field, and Jones easily trotted into the end-zone. The play was the equivalent to the pop-fly in baseball in the 9th inning where a catch would basically end the game, but instead the two outfielders run into each other and let the ball drop to the ground. That’s how bad the play was for Tony Carter and Rahim Moore.
That play proved to be the fatal blow that would wind up killing the Broncos. In overtime, two empty possessions for the Broncos that ended up in a punt and then intercepted pass would basically hand the game to the Ravens. The Broncos defense finally showed up in overtime, forcing two punts by the Ravens that gave the Broncos offense the chance to win it with only a field goal, but even that was too much to ask for.
What proved to be the last possession on the Broncos season, Peyton Manning threw a bad pass in the vicinity of Stokley, only to have a bad read and have it incepted at the Broncos 45 yard line. A few broken down plays on defense for the Broncos would put the Ravens in prime position for a game-winning field goal from 47 yards out. And that’s how the Broncos season would come to an end.
With the bitter taste in the mouth of the Broncos players and their fans, one has to think of what could have been. But alas, not only can the world of sports provide happiness and joy, but it can bring forth a dark day just like Broncos fans have experienced today world wide. We had a fantastic season and the Broncos should be that much better next year. I ask that all Broncos fans stand up with me, stay strong, and stay United in Orange. This loss will only make the Broncos squad and us, the fans, that much more hungry next year. Go Broncos!
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Anthony Rodriguez
Anthony is the Founder, Administrator, Editor and Publisher of Lightning Rod Sports. Originally from California, Anthony has been raised in the Rocky Mountains and Denver area for most of his life. Anthony works with the Emmy-winning student-run T.V. newscast at MSU Denver, The Met Report, as the Assistant General Manager, formerly the Sports Producer, as well as Lead Anchor and Production Assistant. He is currently the Play-by-Play Announcer, Color Commentator, and Production Assistant for the Metro State Broadcast Network, and calls games for Metro State soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball as a “Voice of the Roadrunners.” In addition to that work with the Metro State Broadcast Network, Anthony also hosts the monthly 30-minute magazine show called "The Roadrunner Review" which airs on Altitude Sports and Entertainment. He hosts the bi-weekly "KMet Sports Show" on KMET Radio at MyMetMedia.com/KMETSportsShow. He is also the Founder, Administrator, Editor, and Columnist for his own Denver Sports website, LightningRodSports.com. Anthony is also part of the Social Media team at Examiner.com, and has worked with the Altitude Radio Network for the Avalanche and Nuggets. Anthony is a former Producer for Mile High Sports Radio, as well as a former Sports-Talk show host on the LightningRod Radio Network.
