Broncos flattened as Bills win AFC East
Denver hammered 48-19 for fourth straight losing season
DENVER — The potential feel-good story for the Denver Broncos’ emergency kicker turned into a nightmare with a missed field goal and two pushed extra points.
Taylor Russolino, a late fill-in for Brandon McManus, was hardly the only one off the mark for Denver on this forgettable afternoon.
Drew Lock struggled to ignite the offense and the Denver defense couldn’t stop Josh Allen or Stefon Diggs as the Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC East title with a 48-19 win Saturday.
The Broncos (5-9) clinched something, too — a fourth straight losing season.
What’s more, the Broncos are assured of missing the playoffs for a fifth straight season.
“We all know the expectations here in Denver, the winning tradition this organization has,” safety Justin Simmons conceded. ”There’s no asterisk next to our record saying injury and COVID-19. It just says wins or losses. That’s all anyone cares about.
“At the end of the day, of course, I’m always going to be hopeful because I believe we have a really good team.”
Not on this windy day that began with Russolino sending a 51-yard field goal wide right on the opening drive. The former XFL kicker was added with McManus sidelined because of COVID19 concerns. Russolino also missed two extra points, including one before halftime after Noah Fant’s score trimmed it to 21-13.
No finger pointing, though. “Everybody’s human,” Fant said. “Everybody makes mistakes. I have no clue what it’s like to be in his shoes. I have no clue what it’s like to kick a field goal. I’m not the guy to be real upset about things like that.”
Plus, there was plenty of blame to spread around against Buffalo (11-3). The Broncos secondary was lit up as part of the Josh Allen Show.
To think, Denver could’ve drafted Allen at No. 5 in 2018. The Broncos took Bradley Chubb, instead.
Allen gave them a glimpse of what they missed, throwing for 359 yards and two TDs. He also ran for two scores.