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Broncos Fans Get Reality Check After Baltimore Ravens' Blowout Win

Denver wasn't looking too bad until the third quarter, and then the roof caved in.
November 4, 2024
Image: Vance Joseph during post-game press conference
Vance Joseph's vaunted defense wasn't exactly impregnable against the Baltimore Ravens on November 3. Denver Broncos via YouTube

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Fans of the Denver Broncos have been living in a dream world over the past month-plus — and it's been glorious. With a rookie quarterback, Bo Nix, at the helm and a Russell Wilson-related financial crisis looming in the background, the squad was supposed to suck like a cauldron of vampire bats this year.

Yet somehow, head coach Sean Payton's crew had won five of the past six games.

The competition in those contests was admittedly mediocre, leading more sober observers to suggest that loyalists were overrating this year's edition. But plenty of others were already predicting that the Broncos would make the playoffs this season.

Not so fast. On November 3, Denver traveled to Baltimore to face the Ravens, an outfit led by quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry, both legit MVP candidates, that was collectively pissed off after an inexcusable loss to the Cleveland Browns the prior week. And instead of proving their mettle, the Men of Orange collapsed like an aging apartment building leveled by explosives.

After falling to the Ravens by a 41-10 tally, some of the truest Broncos believers on social media remained optimistic about the franchise's prospects for a post-season berth despite a remaining schedule considered to be one of the NFL's toughest — Denver's next two opponents are division leaders in the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons — but plenty of other fans seemed to wake up to the possibility that their confidence in Denver's future prospects was merely a happy delusion.

The disastrous final outcome took a while to build, despite early signs of catastrophe. On Denver's second play on offense, a Nix pass bounced off Lil'Jordan Humphrey's mitts and wound up in the arms of the Ravens safety Ar'Darius Washington. The result was an instant scoring opportunity for Baltimore, but Jonathan Franklin-Myers's sack of Jackson — the only one the Broncos recorded all day — forced a punt. And even though the ball was downed on the Broncos' two-yard line, Nix moved his charges down the field with alacrity prior to a failed fourth-down play in which Payton's cleverness got the best of him, as it would several more times over the course of the day.

Baltimore responded with a touchdown by Henry, one of two he'd register on the day, and a Justin Tucker field goal. But Nix had some more surprises in store: He looked fully competent on a subsequent 75-yard drive that ended with him hauling in a throw from receiver Courtland Sutton and twisting into the end zone, thereby cutting the Ravens' lead to 10-7. And after Jackson countered that TD with one of his own, via a strike to Zay Flowers, the Broncos put up a short field goal with 54 seconds left in the half.

At that point, the one thing the Broncos couldn't do was allow the Ravens to score again before intermission. But sixteen seconds later, Flowers crossed the goal line again, putting Baltimore up 24-10 — and the score appeared to deflate the Broncos, as their performance in the third quarter demonstrated. In that stanza, the Ravens gained 160 yards and notched fourteen additional points, while Denver's offense generated minus-two yards and a giant goose egg on the scoreboard. Before long, Jackson was resting on the sideline, watching Nix figuratively spin his wheels until the final whistle blew.

Among those earmarked for blame afterward was defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, whose charges had looked so good up until then — and it's true that the D was completely outclassed by Jackson and Henry. But the loss was actually an achievement by the entire team. With the possible exception of Sutton, who had his second exemplary outing in a row, none of the Broncos appeared to be the equal of their opposite numbers. On this day, at least, they simply weren't good enough — and this scenario has a good chance of being repeated in the weeks to come.

What an unpleasant wake-up call.

Continue to see twenty examples of how members of Broncos Country on X wrestled with this bitter 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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