Broncos playoff hopes take big hit after another debatable Gary Kubiak decision
A couple weeks after Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak was criticized for going for a field goal, his call to not go for a field goal will draw some similar heat.
The Broncos trailed 13-0 early in the fourth quarter and faced fourth-and-goal at the Tennessee Titans’ 4-yard line. Kubiak decided to go for it, and the call at the time made sense. His offense hadn’t move the ball, and settling for a field goal didn’t seem prudent. The Broncos threw incomplete and turned it over on downs.
By the end of the game, a 13-10 Titans win, that decision looked bad. The Broncos started to move on offense in the fourth quarter. They scored a touchdown to cut the Titans’ lead to 13-7. Then they drove deep into Titans territory. Instead of trying a field goal to tie, Brandon McManus’ field goal cut Tennessee’s lead only to 13-10.
The Broncos didn’t get the ball back after McManus’ field goal until late in the fourth quarter, at their own 1-yard line after a great Titans punt. The Broncos started driving but tight end A.J. Derby fumbled and the Titans recovered with 53 seconds left.
It’s easy to make a coach’s decisions with the benefit of hindsight, but had Kubiak taken the field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Broncos could have been headed to overtime.
The Broncos are in some trouble after that loss. They were dealt a tough loss two weeks ago to the Kansas City Chiefs, when Kubiak’s ill-fated decision to try a 62-yard field goal in overtime gave the Chiefs a chance to win it on the final play. After this defeat, the defending Super Bowl champs are 8-5 and in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.
The Carolina Panthers, the other Super Bowl team last season, were 4-8 coming into Sunday’s games and extremely likely to miss the playoffs. The last time both Super Bowl teams missed the playoffs the following year was 2003, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders both missed. If the Broncos and Panthers miss the playoffs, it would be the fifth time both Super Bowl participants missed the postseason the following season.
Denver hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2010. If Denver misses out, a couple of key Kubiak decisions will be debated all offseason.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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