ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Darren Rizzi is off to a rough start as the Denver Broncos' new special teams coordinator.
The Broncos got away with a pair of big blunders in the opener when All-Pro Marvin Mims Jr. muffed a punt and the Broncos allowed a 71-yard kickoff return, but they paid dearly Sunday for a pair of special teams blemishes that cost them a win at Indianapolis.
Wil Lutz clanked a 42-yard field goal attempt off the right upright with 3:15 remaining and Denver (1-1) clinging to a 28-26 lead. That meant Indy needed only a field goal to win it, which they did on a do-over after a penalty on linebacker Dondrea Tillman negated a 60-yard miss as time expired and moved the ball well within Spencer Shrader's range.
Coach Sean Payton absolved Rizzi and Tillman on Monday, saying he should have backed off the aggressive call to try to block the 60-yard attempt.
Payton explained that Tillman wasn’t supposed to both push down his opponent and try to leap over him, but there was a misalignment as the Colts switched up their field goal protection unit and Tillman was correctly called for pushing off another player to try to block the kick.
“Before any and all that, though, we should be working a normal rush, a normal interior rush with a 60-yard attempt,” Payton said.
“That’s on me. It’s not on Darren. It’s not on Tillman," Payton said. "With a 60-yard field goal attempt, it’s different. The alignment got wrong and the call was correct. ... But my big regret flying home was that’s more for a closer field goal. That’s more for a gimme than a 60-yard attempt, and that’s on me.”
Shrader nailed the 45-yard do-over to send Denver to another loss like the one last year at Kansas City when Lutz’s chip-shot attempt was blocked with no time remaining, allowing the Chiefs to escape with an improbable win after several Chiefs bowled over Broncos lineman Alex Forsyth.
Just like last year with Forsyth, Payton is making sure Tillman doesn't take all the flack.
His teammates had his back after the game.
“He doesn’t have to be worried about it,” Nik Bonitto said. “I mean, at the end of the day, we’re all human. Everybody makes mistakes. He thought what he was trying to do was to make a play for the team, help us win the game. And if they call the flag, I mean, he had the right intent. It’s not like he went out there trying to lose the game.
"At the end of the day, it is what it is. They call what they call. We’ve got to move on.”
And clean things up, not only on special teams, either.
The offense sputtered with a chance to take control, committing a costly penalty and a turnover late in the game. The defense didn't get its usual pressure and star cornerback Patrick Surtain II got way more work than usual as the Colts didn't shy away from him like most teams do.
"There’s no way we should have lost that game,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "We had probably six or seven opportunities in the second half to end it, and we didn’t. Coach said it best right after the game — you’ve got to learn to win. But, in order to do that, you’ve got to stop losing, and we gave that game away.”
What’s working
Red zone efficiency. The Broncos scored touchdowns on all three of their trips inside the Colts' 20-yard line.
What needs help
Finishing. The Broncos came up empty on their final three drives with golden opportunities to extend their lead and ice the win.
Stock up
Troy Franklin continues his rise as the Broncos' No. 2 wide receiver with eight catches in nine targets for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Stock down
Special teams, for the second straight week. No matter who's to blame, this unit needs to clean things up for the Broncos to bounce back and have the fast September start Payton has been preaching.
Injuries
Nothing significant, but getting ILB Dre Greenlaw back from a troublesome quad injury would certainly help.
Key number
1—Sack by Denver, which had a half-dozen sacks in the opener. This one came on a blitz from inside linebacker Justin Strnad.
Next steps
The Broncos visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
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