On Twitter, both Denver Broncos fans and haters consistently used the word "choke" to describe the team's 27-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on the October 1 edition of Monday Night Football.
Which is a damn good indication that there was a whole lot of gagging goin' on.
The Broncos' collapse was historic; it marked the first time that the squad had blown a ten-point, fourth-quarter lead at home since 2004. And the pain of witnessing it was magnified by circumstances.
Pretty much every objective Denver loyalist expected the Chiefs to deliver a prime-time humiliation, given the emergence of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the most exciting young player to enter the league in years. But rather than laying down and allowing themselves to be steamrolled, as the Colorado Rockies had versus the Los Angeles Dodgers in a contest earlier in the day that determined the National League West champ, the Men of Orange not only acquitted themselves well against KC, but seemed on the road to triumph by building a 23-10 advantage.
But during the final frame, everything went to hell. The Broncos' offense under Keenum, which had generally been efficient up until then, suddenly evaporated, while Mahomes did his best A Star Is Born impression, repeatedly evading a fearsome pass rush from Von Miller and company to deliver the goods, not to mention a go-ahead touchdown with under two minutes to go.
That gave Keenum a chance for some last-ditch heroics of the sort he demonstrated during Denver's week two W against the Oakland Raiders. But after maneuvering his cohorts into the Chiefs' end of the field, he badly overthrew a wide-open Demaryius Thomas for what would have been the dagger, forcing a fourth-down hook-and-lateral attempt that wasn't well executed — though it left the attendees at Mile High Stadium feeling like they had been.
Afterward, frustrated folks took to social media to castigate Keenum, head coach Vance Joseph, defensive coordinator Joe Woods and plenty of others, while lovers of the Chiefs and other Broncos rivals exalted using very similar terminology.
Choke, choke, choke.
See what we mean by counting down our picks for the most memorable tweets about this particular catastrophe.
Number 20:
@Broncos Awesome choke job! pic.twitter.com/4jEynj6a9e
— Jason (@UncleMortimer69) October 2, 2018
Number 19:
Rockies lose, Broncos choke... Can’t get much worse for Denver sports today
— Luke Martin (@lukemartin1717) October 2, 2018
Number 18:
Absolute choke job by the Broncos last night
— Nick Hogan™ (@Nick_Hogan15) October 2, 2018
Number 17:
In typical #Donkey fashion, #Broncos choke in the thin air of Mile High II https://t.co/L4NR2IwROK
— Tornadosaurus Rex (@Wombat66614) October 2, 2018
Number 16:
#NewQuarterbackAlert Might as well let Chad Kelly start How tf we choke a 10 point lead in 8 minutes plus Keenum missed Thomas wide open and he also had my boy Lindsey on a check down that could of went for plenty of yards im 38 hot!
— Go Eazy Bandz?? (@DPAKiddBandz) October 2, 2018
Number 15:
Just another Broncos choke job. Your coach is a dummy. Better promote Musgrave to coach if u want to do anything.
— jt (@JT_Raider) October 2, 2018
Number 14:
Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped off ships bc they knew death was better than watching the Broncos choke
— aruzi t???????? (@aruziT) October 2, 2018
Number 13:
BRONCOS CHOKE!!!! #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/TI83HUVRnF
— Dodger Ty (@LiLT_R8drN8tion) October 2, 2018
Number 12:
In their loss to k.c. or should I say choke. In com plete.......lmao
— John Lindsay (@JohnLin67064486) October 2, 2018
Number 11:
another broncos choke job
— ???????????????????? (@bradynichols85) October 2, 2018
Number 10:
FAKE NEWS!! Nothing to be grateful for when the Broncos choke. <sob>
— Hannah Wanebo (@hannahwanebo) October 2, 2018
Number 9:
Joe Woods should be fired. His terrible play calling significantly contributed to this loss. Can Vance Joseph, too. Just an inexcusable choke job.
— Mike Smith (@bladeoffire1) October 2, 2018
Also, leave it to @casekeenum to miss a wide open @DemaryiusT for a touchdown. Unreal.
Number 8:
Damn broncos with a heartbreaking loss that was such a huge choke so many opportunities ridiculous
— . (@KiiNGKillaa) October 2, 2018
Number 7:
Colossal choke job by the #Broncos sickening...
— Goodell Sucks (@Broncofan1984) October 2, 2018
Number 6:
What a choke job. Amazing how much talent Broncos have wasted in the last 6 years with 1 title to show for it.
— Shaun Dunn (@Dunn30) October 2, 2018
Number 5:
Coaching kills the broncos again. Choke artist leads this team. Keenum had his shot and failed. Boo. #KCvsDEN
— SmilingAssassin27 (@RJCHVZ) October 2, 2018
Number 4:
Absolute choke D coordinator should be gone!
— Craig Foster (@CraigFo29362624) October 2, 2018
Number 3:
Bye bye Vance Joseph. What a choke job. @Broncos
— Mike Radcliff (@MikeRadcliff11) October 2, 2018
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Number 2:
What a beautiful Broncos way to choke #MNF #chiefskingdom
— Michael Fitzmorris (@MikeFitzmorris) October 2, 2018
Number 1:
Y'all always choke in the playoffs so I ain't trippin pic.twitter.com/tAbgW7nQ7x
— B.Dot (Broncos 2-2) (@RealBryanPerez) October 2, 2018
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