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Top 20 Tweets About Refs Who Doomed Broncos Over Von Miller Joke

Your Denver Broncos laid an egg large enough to contain a T-Rex in a 26-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, September 24. But on Twitter, much of the conversation about the squad's first road defeat of the season, following home wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, revolved around a jaw-dropping unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against superstar Von Miller during the fourth quarter of the contest, when the outcome had still not been determined. See our picks for the twenty most memorable tweets here.
September 25, 2017
Image: Von Miller pretending to help up Tyrod Taylor — a joke that resulted in a costly penalty for the Denver Broncos.
Von Miller pretending to help up Tyrod Taylor — a joke that resulted in a costly penalty for the Denver Broncos. NFL via Twitter

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Your Denver Broncos laid an egg large enough to contain a T-Rex in a 26-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, September 24. But on Twitter, much of the conversation about the squad's first road defeat of the season, following home wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, revolved around a jaw-dropping unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against superstar Von Miller during the fourth quarter of the contest, when the outcome had still not been determined. See our picks for the twenty most memorable tweets here.

To set the scene: Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw a third-down incompletion that went awry in large part because he knew Miller was about to drill him, which he did. The result of the play meant the Bills would have to punt to the Broncos, who were down by a single touchdown and would have had plenty of time to drive the length of the field. But, no: An official threw a flag against Von for acting as if he was going to help Taylor to his feet before pulling his hand away like a middle-schooler denying a high-five.

This action was clearly a joke, and Miller wasn't the only one who laughed at it: Cameras caught Taylor chuckling, too. But the refs weren't amused, and their punishment led directly to a Bills field goal that put the game out of reach.

Of course, the odds that Denver would have driven to a tying score were slim, particularly given the mediocrity displayed by Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian in the second half; his two astonishingly embarrassing interceptions proved that sports-radio chatter about him deserving a giant, and immediate, contract extension was incredibly premature. Moreover, plenty of tweeters blamed Miller for this gaffe, as if he could have foreseen the bizarre ruling.

Not me. I remain incredulous over the call — and I'm not alone. Continue to count down proof, complete with GIFs of the moment in question.

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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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