Three biggest observations from the Broncos loss to the Panthers
Nov 28, 2022, 5:40 AM
The Denver Broncos were back on the road in Week 12, this time traveling to face the Carolina Panthers. The Broncos fell by a score of 23-10, and now they have a record of 3-8 this season. They’ve now lost three in a row and seven of their last eight games.
The Panthers are not a good team, and they started their third quarterback of the 2022 season, but they were able to easily beat the Broncos. Now, the Walton-Penner ownership group has to think even more about making a coaching change during the season. Fans have lost interest, and this is more than a lost season – this is the worst season the Broncos have had since before Super Bowl XII.
Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett wasn’t thinking about his job status after the game.
“It’s about the team. I just want to find a way to win a football game. That’s so important to me. These coaches, these players, they work so hard and I just want to be there for them to be able to try to make it so we can be successful on the field,” Hackett said.
Here are my three biggest observations from the loss to the Panthers.
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It Wasn’t Close
Most losses the Broncos have had this season have been close. The game against the Panthers was unlike most of the other losses we’ve seen in 2022. Instead of staying in the game with strong defense and an inept offense, the Broncos could not stop the Panthers offense.
I believe the defense looked checked out early. Sure, there were some passionate moments and good plays from time to time, but overall this wasn’t a good defensive performance (more on that in a bit). The offense still sucks, and with Klint Kubiak in his second week of calling plays things didn’t look better.
The offense brings the rest of the team down. Special teams stinks, and this team insists on trying to make Montrell Washington a thing when the kid is clearly struggling. It just seems like when something goes wrong – like it does in EVERY NFL game – these Broncos have a “here we go again” attitude. A losing culture has been festering with Hackett’s group, and that’s one of the many reasons he’s got to go.
After the game, Hackett was asked if this felt different because the loss wasn’t close.
“When you lose, you’re always upset and we have to be better. When you look at the turnover that was down in the red zone, that was an opportunity and a big point swing. I thought we did a good two- minute drive to get down there and have a chance to be able to get some points before half. In the end, we all got to be better. That starts with me. We got to be better and got to find a way to win some of these games,” Hackett said.
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They Stopped Running
Teams who run the ball effectively know that even when things are down and they’re behind on the scoreboard, there’s no need to abandon the run. Take for example, the Tennessee Titans as a team who knows who they are and they know how to win. Even when the Titans are down by three, seven, and even 10 points, they do not go away from their rushing attack.
Now, they have Derrick Henry – a bonafide superstar – and the Broncos have Latavius Murray, but it doesn’t change the fact that Denver goes away from the running game far too often. Things were working with the ground game in the first half, and at halftime the Broncos were only down 10-3 to the Panthers. Instead of staying steady with a rushing attack that was finally working, the Broncos went to the shotgun formation and tried to win in the air.
For the first time in 2022, the Broncos had a run gain more than 20 yards. They were the only team entering Week 12 that hadn’t had a single rushing play that went for 20 yards or more. Murray changed that with an explosive 52-yard run. The Broncos haven’t had a single 100-yard rusher this season, but Murray got close with 92 yards on the day. One is left to wonder if Murray would’ve exceeded the century mark had his coaching staff not given up. Once again, the Broncos failed to put together drives in the third and fourth quarters.
After the game, Hackett gave another excuse about the second-half struggles of his team.
“I’m going to have to look at the tape a little bit. I know we started off with that first play that ended up being negative four to Montrell (Washington). Again, we got to try and find a way to get those easy completions and move the ball,” Hackett said.
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Defense Has Issues Too
The Broncos defense is good, but I’m not sure they’re as good as we thought they were just a few weeks ago. I do think the ineptitude of the Broncos offense is building an obvious frustration that we saw come to a boiling point when defensive tackle Mike Purcell yelled at quarterback Russell Wilson on the sidelines.
It’s got to be tough for the defense to carry this team. The offense gives them no help, and opponents know they don’t have to do much on offense to win.
Cornerback Patrick Surtain was torched by Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams last week. That’s a good matchup because Adams is a superstar, but Surtain was subsequently torched by D.J. Moore on Sunday. Moore is a good receiver, maybe even a star receiver, but he’s not on the level of Adams and he shouldn’t be the type of player Surtain struggles to contain.
In addition to problems in the secondary, the Broncos couldn’t stop D’Onta Foreman or Chuba Hubbard and the Panthers’ rushing attack. Hackett tried to explain why his defense struggled in that department (again).
“They created a lot of double teams. They got into a lot of big personnel. They brought in an extra tackle and they just lined up and they were just going to smashmouth it downhill and see what they could get from it and they got some good runs,” Hackett said.
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