They say bad news comes in threes. Well, three football faux pas cost the Broncos their Week 3 contest against the Buffalo Bills, dropping Denver to 2-1 on the season. Too many penalties, a questionable special teams play call and some bad decision-making by Trevor Siemian resulted in the 26-16 loss at New Era Field in Buffalo.
The Broncos entered the game having not suffered defeat during the 2017 season, going a perfect 4-0 in the preseason and winning their first two regular-season games.
Denver was flagged 10 times for 79 yards, including a crucial unsportsmanlike penalty late in the game against Von Miller that helped Buffalo score their final points of the game.
Late in the third quarter, trailing by four, Denver gave up the ball in their own territory after failing to convert a fake punt. The Bills would turn that gaffe into three points.
Meanwhile, Siemian made two game-changing mistakes when he was intercepted twice in the second half.
In the early going it felt like the Broncos were the ones who were going to break the game’s first big play. Despite going three-and-out for minus-one yard on the opening drive, Denver was chipping away on their next two drives and finally put up points on their third possession. Brandon McManus hit a 28-yard field goal to give Denver the early lead, but the Bills answered thanks to a pair of big plays.
Tyrod Taylor found wide receiver Jordan Matthews open underneath safety coverage for a 28-yard catch and run on third-and-six on the first play of the second quarter. He exploited a similar mismatch when he hit tight end Charles Clay three plays later for another gain of 28. Denver was the beneficiary of some good luck on first-and-goal when a wide open Mike Tolbert didn’t hang on to a screen pass that would have resulted in a touchdown. The Bills were the lucky ones on the next play, however, when a ball deflected in the end zone landed right in the hands of Andre Holmes.
The Denver offense dug in and responded with a 79-yard touchdown drive of their own. A pair of unnecessary roughness penalties against Buffalo helped propel Denver downfield, along with a pair of big runs for Denver. C.J. Anderson broke loose for 32 yards, then was the recipient of an shove out of bounds to net 47 total yards on the play. Following a roughing the passer penalty, Jamaal Charles powered his way through the left side for a 12-yard touchdown run, his first as a Bronco.
After forcing a Buffalo punt on the ensuing drive, Denver had a huge gain wiped from the record on their next possession. It would prove to be a huge play in the game.
Siemian, throwing from near his own end zone, hit Emmanuel Sanders behind coverage for a 44-yard gain on third-and-four, but review overturned the call. Sanders appeared to have made three steps with the ball as he came down, but the officials ruled that he bobbled the ball and trapped it on his way to the ground, forcing a punt. Denver was strong in punt coverage on the initial kick, but an illegal formation penalty pushed Denver back five yards. The Bills would capitalize on their next return.
Brandon Tate took the next punt 17 yards to the Denver 32-yard line, their best starting position of the day. Buffalo was flagged for an illegal block on first down, eventually ending the drive with a Steven Hauschka field goal to tie the game.
The Broncos again responded after Buffalo tied the game for the second time, moving 58 yards downfield on a methodical nine-play drive that put three points on the board with 46 seconds left on the clock. Demaryius Thomas had a huge third-down conversion, posting up Tre’Davious White for a 21-yard gain. Siemian routinely targeted the receiver going against White during the first half.
The Bills would not go down without a fight in the first half, though. Taylor was 4-for-4 in the one-minute offense, including two screen passes to LeSean McCoy that resulted in 25 yards to open the drive. Hauschka ended the drive with an impressive 55-yard field goal to tie the game at 13 heading to halftime. McCoy was held to just 12 yards rushing in the first half, but his 46 yards on five receptions led Buffalo at the half.
The Bills would get the chance to take their first lead of the game in the second half, but Denver came out fast and mean, sacking Taylor on the first play of the third quarter. A holding penalty drawn by Miller on third down backed the Bills inside their own 15 before punting the ball back to Denver from the 23.
Charles gave, then took away on the ensuing possession, breaking a 19-yard run, then being flagged for a false start. Before that, Siemian hit Virgil Green for an impressive 14-yard conversion after being flushed from the pocket on the first play the drive. He also connected with Fowler for 14 yards on the drive. Andy Janovich picked up a big third-and-one, but Denver’s fifth false start of the game backed them up and forced a McManus field-goal try. The kicker was true from 28 yards to again take a three-point lead.
Taylor responded with a huge blow, however, hitting Brandon Tate with a beautiful diving catch 31 yards downfield to open the next drive. Tate beat Will Parks in coverage. Two plays later, Matthews beat All-Pro Chris Harris for a 25-yard catch. Taylor hit Clay in the end zone on the very next play and Buffalo had their first lead of the game, 20-16, and the Broncos reeling.
A holding penalty on the first play spelled doom as Denver tried to answer. The Bills then snuffed out a draw second-and-15, before the tide shifted greatly in favor of Buffalo. On third-and-23, Siemian tried to force a throw downfield and instead found the arms of Buffalo’s E.J. Gaines at the Denver 33-yard line.
The Denver defense bowed its back as best it could on the next drive, though. After a holding penalty opened the drive, Shelby Harris came up with a huge sack on third down to back the Bills out of Hauschka’s range. Denver would take over at their own 12-yard line.
Siemian made a gutsy third-down conversion with his legs to open the drive and give Denver some breathing room. The collective air was sucked out Denver, though, when they tried a direct-snap to De’Angelo Henderson in punt formation from their own 31-yard line on fourth-and-two. Henderson gained just one yard and the Bills again took over in Denver territory.
The gamble would prove costly, although not as bad as it could have been, as the Denver D again held its ground as best it could. Hauschka connected for 53 yards to give the Bills a 23-16 lead with 13:56 remaining in the game.
Cody Latimer gave the Broncos some life on the ensuing kickoff, breaking free for a 38-yard return to the 36. Siemian hit Thomas in play action on the first play of the drive for a 23-yard gain into Bills territory. Thomas posted up Gaines a couple plays later to get Denver into a third-and-two situation. Yet another penalty negated a third-down conversion – an offensive pass interference by Thomas away from the play. Buffalo gave the penalty right back though on the next play, giving Denver a first down with an illegal hands to the face call. Jamaal Charles picked up a huge first down with a 12-yard run to extend the drive, but then Siemian made his second bad decision of the day.
On first-and-10 from the Bills’ 24, Siemian failed to throw a ball out of bounds with nothing happening downfield and instead threw it right into the hands of Tre’Davious White. Taylor made a play with his feet after nearly being sacked, then had to do nothing on perhaps the game’s biggest penalty. After making a third-down stop in which Von Miller leveled Taylor, the All-Pro linebacker was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for pretending to offer the quarterback a hand up, then walking away. Buffalo would move another 22 yards downfield and another Hauschka field goal put Buffalo up 10 with only 3:14 to play.
Siemian hit Thomas for 23 yards on third-and-nine on the ensuing drive, but was sacked on the very next play. The Bills defense would hold on the next three plays and Buffalo would take over on downs to end the game.
Denver’s final four drives ended interception, downs, interception and downs; however, it was the first three of those that really cost them any real chance to win the game. Bad things really did come in threes for Denver in Week 3.
