“It’s unacceptable”
Bridgewater owns up to lack of hustle on Slay’s TD return
Teddy Bridgewater owned up to his lack of hustle on Sunday’s decisive play of the Broncos’ 30-13 loss to the Eagles when the quarterback declined to attempt to tackle Philadelphia’s Darius Slay on an 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Upon reviewing the film, coach Vic Fangio said he’d “at least like to see Teddy try to make a play at (Slay).” Meanwhile, the quarterback was much more critical of himself, calling his effort on the final play of the third quarter “unacceptable.”
“We watched it (Monday) as a team, and Coach (Fangio) pointed out that my effort had to be better there,” Bridgewater said. “And I totally agree. That’s not the type of tape that I want to put out there. It’s one of those situations where you get (mad) after you watch it because… in real-time it felt like everything was happening fast and I wanted to force a cutback, but when you slow it down, it’s like, ‘Man, give more effort.’ ”
Bridgewater said he thought Melvin Gordon, who fumbled on the 4th-and-1 play, was down by contact. But linebacker Davion Taylor had forced a fumble, and after Slay scooped the ball up, he reversed field before blowing by the few Broncos that were hustling (namely Eric Saubert, Gordon and Tim Patrick) to the end zone for a 27-13 lead.
“Credit Slay, he made a great play also,” Bridgewater said. “It’s one of those deals where we’ve got guys diving, trying to make the tackle, and I just need to lay it all out for guys in that moment. … (Now) I have to accept the fact that I didn’t give everything I had in me on that play, and I understand there’s going to be some backlash that comes with it.”
Fangio made a point to emphasize Bridgewater’s lack of hustle during Monday’s team meeting, something the quarterback was fine with. Bridgewater also said his recent injuries (foot, hip and a concussion since the calendar turned to October) didn’t factor into his decision to not engage with Slay.
“I’m not going to slink in my chair or feel bad that Coach is calling me out,” Bridgewater said. “I take full ownership of what happened… I’m happy coach called me out to show, ‘Hey man, we need more out of you right here.’ ”
Center Lloyd Cushenberry admitted he lacked proper effort on the play too, and noted “we all
could have made a play” to prevent Slay’s return.
The Broncos were about 20 yards from tying the game when Gordon fumbled, and with a two-td lead as a result of Slay’s highlight, Philadelphia didn’t relent control of the momentum. Fangio said going for it in that scenario, instead of kicking a short field goal to cut it to a fourpoint deficit, was an “easy decision.”
Defensive end Shelby Harris backed his quarterback a day after Bridgewater was roasted on social media for his non-tackle attempt.
“You can’t point the finger at one person (for that play),” Harris said. “Football is the ultimate team game and Slay made a play. I’m with my quarterback and I’m going to ride with him.”
Bridgewater said the Broncos’ Week 11 bye is coming at a perfect time as Denver (5-5) looks to regroup from the loss to the Eagles ahead of a tough final sevengame stretch that includes five divisional contests. Despite the fans’ uproar over the Broncos’ letdown to Philadelphia, Fangio again endorsed Bridgewater as the team’s QB1. Drew Lock will remain the backup.
“We get this bye week, get some time to reflect and embrace the good, accept and embrace the bad, and just move forward,” Bridgewater said. “We can’t let Sunday’s performance linger or let that determine the outcome of the rest of the season.”