The Denver Broncos got stunned in their season opener to the Seattle Seahawks, 17-16. As a result, Russell Wilson's return home was spoiled in a much anticipated Monday night football matchup.
The Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus missed a 64-yard field goal with the clock winding down. McManus is now 1-8 on FG of 60+ yards in his career.
The hype around the league is. So who made the call to kick a field go instead of go for it on 4th and five?
Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett says he felt they had a better chance of making it from 64 than picking up 5-6 yards on fourth down. Felt like they weren't moving the ball as well on that final drive. Russell Wilson played it safe in the first half, barely throwing the ball deep down the field. Then, in the fourth quarter, he failed to get his weapons involved and displayed poor clock management.
Hacketts say, "Looking back at it, we definitely should have gone for it."
In that situation, the likelihood of Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos offense converting on 4th & 5 against the Seattle Seahawks defense was 57%. According to ESPN
Wilson has a 68.8 conversion percentage rate on 4th and five or less in the 4th quarter. Wilson said he had a play on 4th down and was prepared to call it, but head coach Nathaniel Hackett decided to kick the field goal.
The Broncos should have never been in this position, regardless of the situation. Instead, Denver's defense couldn't buy a tackle in the first half while racking up penalties and positioning the Seahawks in place to score.
Seahawks Geno Smith went nearly perfect from the strip completing 17/18 for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy scored his first of many touchdowns; sadly, this would be Denver's only chance at making it into the endzone. The Broncos couldn't overcome their red zone insecurities with Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams fumbling on the 1-yard line.
Broncos, running back Melvin Gordon on the week one loss to the Seahawks.
Gordon 12 car for 58 yards and one fumble
"We know we're the better team, but clearly, we made more mistakes than they did,"
Win or Lose. You have to credit the Seahawks for their season opener outstanding performance. Especially quarterback Geno Smith and Seattle's defense. Who held the Broncos offense to two goal-line stands in the 4th quarter in the red zone?
So yes, the Broncos beat themselves, but you can't take anything away from the Seahawks. A team that traded away their 10-year star quarterback for a package of assets is oddly trending in the right direction despite their odds of making the playoffs. They have an 86.65% chance of not making it to the playoffs.