Audio By Carbonatix
After your Denver Broncos shocked the Dallas Cowboys last week, never-say-die fans capable of pretending the team’s pathetic four-game skid following a hot start against terrible teams never happened began wondering if the Orange and Blue crew had turned a corner. And they had – straight into a brick wall.
The Broncos’ dreadful 30-13 home loss yesterday, November 14, to the Philadelphia Eagles, a team they were actually favored to beat, shattered illogical fantasies about a playoff run. Twitter users responded with anger at quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, particularly after he made less than no effort to tackle the Eagles’ Darius Slay during what turned out to be an 82-yard fumble recovery and return for a stake-in-the-heart fourth-quarter touchdown. (It may have been smart for Bridgewater to avoid potential injury, but the optics couldn’t have been worse.) However, most of the vitriol was reserved for head coach Vic Fangio, an alleged defensive genius who allowed Philly signal-caller Jalen Hurts to pummel the Broncos with both his hands and his feet, like an MMA champion competing against a tackling dummy.
Things got ugly early. The Eagles manufactured a ten-play drive to start the game, and while the Broncos managed to get a stop and force a field goal, their offensive answer was a three-and-out that produced a one-yard loss. Worse, the Denver D put up all the resistance of a broken screen door in a tornado when Hurts and company took the ball and notched a quick touchdown moments later.
For a while, disaster seemed to have been averted; the Broncos tied the score at 10-10, thanks largely to the efforts of running backs Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams. But the Eagles put up another ten-spot before halftime, and Denver cut into that lead by just three points during the last two quarters of largely ineffectual offense prior to the moment when Slay ended the suspense once and for all.
At 5-5, the Broncos remain in the running for the AFC West crown from a mathematical standpoint – but this is definitely a case where numbers can lie. An objective look at Denver following its latest belly flop in a must-win situation suggests that the team is incapable of a serious run, triggering a wide array of frustration on Twitter. Some residents of Broncos country merely seem as exhausted as Peyton Manning in the meme-ready image at the top of this post, while others are livid at Fangio, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur (sidelined by COVID), quarterbacks coach Mike Shula (who subbed for Shurmur), and the rest of the Denver brain trust.
The following twenty tweets provide vivid examples:
Number 20:
Who agrees that a Kindergartner can coach this team better than Vic Fangio ? Even I could tbh.
— Benjamin Bearce (Benji) (@benbearce96) November 15, 2021
Number 19:
Maybe if the Broncos get tired of hearing the noise again they’ll win again? They had a lot to say to people after that cowboys fluke victory”wE wAntEd To ShUt pEopLE uP” BITCH PLEASE Eagles shut y’all tf down at your own home. EMBARRASSING.
— YeetStoneDB (@DWsGames2) November 15, 2021
Number 18:
I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT
FANGIO/ SHURMUR/ SHULA
ALL NEED TO GO.cc: @johnelway @psmyth12 @Broncos
— Broom (@OldDevilMoon13) November 15, 2021
Number 17:
FIRE VIC FANGIO!
HIRE REX RYAN! HE GETS IT!
CUT TEDDY THE QUITTER!#broncos
— USA (@Factstastik) November 15, 2021
Number 16:
Death by inches…more like death by incompetence pic.twitter.com/e1eBLvLM3T
— Prick Fangio (@HWBroncos) November 15, 2021
Number 15:
Fangio's expressions while on the sidelines when Broncos struggle make supporting him very difficult. He looks flustered, frustrated, and defeated. Attitude reflects leadership, Cap'n.
— Joe Hess (@RunningJoeInJax) November 15, 2021
Number 14:
With Fangio and Shurmer still on staff the odds on the @Broncos winning the division should have one more 0 on the end of it.
— Blake N (@B_Isaac07) November 15, 2021
Number 13:
No I get that and your probably right. That was the easiest 3 game stretch of the season for any team in the NFL. Funny thing is if the schedule was different we would have fired Fangio by now and started Drew to give him one last shot. Instead we’re stuck with Vic and Teddy. pic.twitter.com/eno205l1wg
— The Future Ghost of John Elway (@TheGhostOfElway) November 15, 2021
Number 12:
Woo-hoo, Broncos laid an egg. Guess our win over Dallas was a fluke.
— CT-5247 'Poole' (@ARCPoole) November 15, 2021
Number 11:
Wanna know why us Broncos fans are upset? Fangio clearly doesn't care and won't care about us after he's fired. We will still be here. This team matters to us. He's lost the locker room and the fanbase. Why make him ride out the year? Ship him out tomorrow. #BroncosCountry
— John Starcevich III (@johnstar3) November 15, 2021
Number 10:
You act like this is Breaking news? Anyone who knows anything about football, knew Fangio wasn’t Patons long term guy. After losing 4 straight, sealed the deal for him and his crew. Vic is fired this week or for sure the hour the season ends for the Broncos.
— John Elway’s Official Fake Account (@LennyMartens) November 15, 2021
Number 9:
Live look into @Broncos Front Office meeting with Fangio after that performance today…#BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/eOKqVCHBys
— Nathan Bateman (@azbroncofan70) November 15, 2021
Number 8:
Broncos fans got fooled by that complete fluke last week. Cowboys can’t beat the Broncos. It’s as simple as that
What they showed today is what they really are: a lousy-ass team
One (1) win against a half decent team all year and it was due to a curse. They’re terrible, sorry.
— Jonathon Kamuf (@JonathonKamuf) November 15, 2021
Number 7:
Watching the broncos for the last 5 years makes me sick. Repeating the same mistakes over and over again. I bet Fangio is real quiet after this pathetic loss at home.
— Danny Stillman (@danny_stills) November 15, 2021
Number 6:
Sadly my Broncos suck once https://t.co/1UlcDxpmSf coaches,New line,new Qt https://t.co/HuMEYeZp15 still won’t help.We’ll do the exact same thing as the last 5 years.SUCK in 2022
— Charlie Sanders (@Charlie02004717) November 15, 2021
Number 5:
@Broncos @johnelway it’s time to #FIRE Coach Fangio and Schumer. I’m mean 3years of not making it anywhere should speak volumes. All of us fans see it why don’t you #johnelway #ugh I’m tired of being in the #afcwest #basement aren’t you.
— TRAVELINGCARGUY (@FOOSE194) November 15, 2021
Number 4:
Vic Fangio. Defensive Mastermind.
— J (@cosportsbar) November 15, 2021
Number 3:
@Broncos time for a change! Fangio, Teddy, or at least McMahon need to go!!! That fumble return and our QB runs away from it when he isn’t good enough to do so?! Come on!!! This isn’t the Broncos of old!
— Darren Kochevar (@Darvenrk) November 15, 2021
Number 2:
Fangio is going to die on the hill of Preserving Teddy, Shurmur and McMahon's jobs for as long as possible, as long as he's still employed with the team they probbably will be too.
— Alex Pirrello (@BroncosSZN2021) November 15, 2021
Number 1:
Thinking about how we still have 7 more games of Vic Fangio slop to go pic.twitter.com/EPFJzsyG56
— apathetic broncos fan (@Joe3O3) November 15, 2021
