Sanders’ taunting haunts Broncos
DENVER — First, Emmanuel Sanders wagged his right index finger in the face of Rams cornerback Troy Hill. Now, he’s pointing it right at himself after Denver’s fourth consecutive loss.
After his taunt came back to haunt the Broncos, Sanders accepted the blame for Denver’s latest loss in a monthlong tailspin that has fans in the Rocky Mountains bracing for back-toback losing seasons for the first time since 1971-72.
“I guess this loss is on me,” Sanders said after the Rams escaped frigid Denver as the league’s lone unbeaten team following a 23-20 win Sunday over the Broncos (2-4), who became the first team in NFL history to allow a 200-yard rusher in backto-back games.
Sanders thought he had a 44-yard TD catch from Case Keenum as he tumbled into the end zone in the first quarter. He sprung to his feet and wagged a finger at Hill.
Side judge Brad Freeman threw the flag, calling a personal foul on Sanders for taunting.
Ordinarily, the flag wouldn’t have mattered much because the 15-yard penalty would have been enforced on the ensuing kickoff and Brandon McManus, after giving Denver a 7-6 lead with an extra point, undoubtedly would still have booted the ball out of the end zone for a touchback.
Upon review, however, it turned out Hill had the last laugh, having touched Sanders before he crossed the goal line. That put the ball at the 1. The penalty pushed them back to the 16.
After runs of 1 and 5 yards, Keenum’s throwaway on thirdand-4 brought in McManus for a field goal instead of an extra point and his 28-yarder cut Denver’s deficit to 6-3.
They never did get the lead and those four points would have made the difference in a three-point loss.
“Me, honestly, I feel like the league is getting soft,” Sanders said. “I’m having fun. I didn’t do anything crazy to the guy besides say, ‘Hey, I got you on that play.’ I pointed my finger at him. And they threw the flag.”
Sanders said he’s done that his whole career and has never been flagged for it.
“It was a great throw by Case, I came down with it, big play, emotions are high. It’s not like I walked up to him and headbutted him or something,” Sanders said. “But it cost my team. We lost by three points. I feel like we could have easily punched that ball in and gotten four [more] points. I guess this loss is on me.”
Vance Joseph, who fell to 7-15 as head coach, talked to Sanders on the sideline.
“He can’t do that,” Joseph said. “He knows that.” Well, he does now. “I don’t think I did anything too crazy besides point a finger and tell the guy, ‘Hey I got you on that play.’ I don’t see the penalty in that,” Sanders said. “But I learned from it and like I said, it cost my team. I’ve just got to keep chugging along and don’t do it again.”
The costly foul from a nineyear veteran came one week after Sanders’ fellow SMU alum, rookie receiver Courtland Sutton, chased down Marcus Maye at the 1 following a 104-yard interception return at game’s end, leaving the Jets safety with the longest such play without a score in NFL history.
“We played two of the best teams in the league, the Chiefs and the Rams, and the games came down to crunch time. And that just shows you what kind of team that we are,” linebacker Shane Ray declared. “We’re a great football team.”
Not at 2-4 they aren’t.