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Best Twitter Overreactions to Broncos' Win Over the Giants

Teddy Bridgewater was the adult in the room.
September 13, 2021
Image: Teddy Bridgewater cracks a smile during an interview following the Broncos' week one win over the New York Giants.
Teddy Bridgewater cracks a smile during an interview following the Broncos' week one win over the New York Giants. Denver Broncos via YouTube
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We come not to bury Twitter overreactions to the Denver Broncos' 27-13 victory over the New York Giants in week one of the 2021 NFL season, but to praise them — or to at least validate the reasons behind them.

As Broncos boosters know all too well, the squad's fall since its triumph in Super Bowl 50, way back in 2016, and the subsequent retirement of Peyton Manning, has been steady and gut-wrenching, with occasional flickers of hope quickly snuffed out by real life. Indeed, the win over the Giants was the first September victory since head coach Vic Fangio was hired in 2019.

Following another failed campaign in 2020, John Elway stepped away from his de facto general manager's gig in favor of new GM George Paton. But after a flurry of excitement over the possibility that Green Bay Packers MVP Aaron Rodgers might be coming to Denver, the franchise engaged in the least interesting quarterback competition ever. That Teddy Bridgewater, whom Paton knew from his days with the Minnesota Vikings, emerged victorious over erratic doofus Drew Lock was the biggest surprise since the sun rose in the west this morning.

Rooting for Bridgewater comes naturally, given the way he's fought back from an injury so devastating that doctors actually considered amputating his leg. But while he's smart and competent, he doesn't have much of an arm by pro-football standards these days; even his intermediate passes tend to lack zip, and any hurl over thirty yards usually either floats or wobbles. As a result, Denver's formula for victory calls for Bridgewater to manage the offense, minimize mistakes and take advantage of opportunities provided by the outfit's stellar defense.

That's precisely what the team did on September 12. Bridgewater connected on 28 of his 36 passes, and while his average completion went for fewer than ten yards, he managed to notch two touchdowns despite wideout K.J. Hamler dropping a sure score; he was left wide open by a Giants secondary that clearly didn't think Teddy could toss the ball as far as he did. Along the way, the field general got solid support from running back Melvin Gordon and his young receiving corps (Jerry Jeudy had to be carted off the field, but the initial prognosis is a high ankle sprain). And the D, led by resurgent double-sacker Von Miller, bent but didn't break. The Giants would have been held to a single TD had bust-in-the-making signal caller Daniel Jones not run into the end zone with no time left on the clock.

Yes, the Giants are several kinds of terrible. But Denver has made a habit of losing to terrible teams in recent years, and Bridgewater's performance made it clear that there's an adult in the room. So who can blame local Twitter users for immediately leaping to the conclusion that the Broncos are headed back to the playoffs, or maybe even the Super Bowl? Not us. Although these leaps in logic are incredibly premature, they're also totally understandable. After all, it's been a long time since fans who bleed orange and blue had something to celebrate.

Continue to count down our favorite Twitter overreactions about the Broncos' W, interspersed with a few concessions to reality.

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Image: Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.
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