Blaming refs for Broncos' loss to Colts just plain dumb

INDIANAPOLIS — Time to run mental lapses.

And extra gassers at the end of practice.

Here in Naptown, a poster with Colts players adorns the J.W. Marriott, paying tribute to late team owner Jim Irsay. It reads: For the Boss. For the City. For the Shoe.

For the love of God, this ending was stupid. A series of cognitive disconnects, each more costly than the last, resulted in a 29-28 walk-off loss for the Broncos.

This wasn’t just a Denver loss; this was the ultimate brain freeze. Like guzzling a 32-ounce Slurpee through a straw in a single drink.

Unwisely conceived: Darren Rizzi, why ask Dondrea Tillman to try to block a 60-yard field goal from a kicker who has never made a 50-yarder? Poorly executed: If you are going to speed, even if by one mile per hour over, don’t get caught — and stained by failure.

The Broncos were dealt their first loss of the season in their first road game of the season in a way that, as far as the internet can tell, was a first.

In four weeks, if your friends ask you how the Broncos’ special season became ordinary, the story starts here. When they ask you at the office Christmas party why they have to win out against Kansas City and the Chargers to make the playoffs, remind them of the Colts.

The Broncos put themselves in a dangerous position with upcoming cage matches against the Chargers, Bengals and Eagles by squandering a game the Colts were begging for them to win. Or at least coach Shane Steichen was as he performed his best Nathaniel Hackett Clueless in Seattle impersonation.

When writing the Broncos’ history since Super Bowl 50, what unfolded before our wide eyes demands an entry. Let’s start at the end and work backward.

Leading 28-26, the Broncos took possession at their 35-yard line with 8:29 remaining. On an afternoon when the offense finally awoke from its summer hibernation, this represented a chance for a statement drive in a benchmark game. Siphon the clock. Kick a short field goal, and let the beleaguered defense leave with its dignity with a clinching sack of Daniel Jones.

It set up according to script. Until it didn’t. The Broncos were MacGyver, poised for the dramatic ending, and suddenly forgot the difference between the blue and red wires. They made a series of mistakes that had coach Sean Payton shaking his head and admitting, “It is going to be painful to watch this film.”

Payton prides himself on building a roster full of smart, disciplined and competitive players. They got the competitive part right against the Colts.

The unraveling began with running back J.K. Dobbins. He burst up the middle for 23 yards, placing the Broncos at the 20 for a chip shot from Wil Lutz. But Dobbins slammed the ball to the turf in celebration not once, but twice. He was called for delay of game, costing five yards and undermining momentum.

“They just said I can’t do that. I didn’t know I couldn’t. I have always done it,” said Dobbins, who finished with 76 yards on 14 carries. “I don’t know — I’ve just got to keep my composure and not do that.”

His excess celebration would have been forgotten, except tight end Adam Trautman, who is clearly getting more snaps than Evan Engram, committed a face mask penalty, his hands smushing the face of the defender on a block. The 20 became a memory. The Broncos were pushed back to 40 and needed a 15-yard tunnel screen to Troy Franklin to claw back into field goal range.

OK, Lutz, erase two foolish penalties with one good kick. Uh-oh. Lutz knew off his foot that the 42-yarder was in trouble. It sliced hard right like every duffer’s tee shot and doinked off the upright.

Even then, the Broncos had one last chance. They were Dumb, but Steichen was Dumber.

The Broncos’ vaunted defense should not have had to rely on help, but it couldn’t get a stop. After the two-minute warning. Payton called three timeouts on three consecutive plays, a strategy that made sense if Denver was able to get off the field. When the Colts converted on third-and-6, as Pat Surtain II was unable to deflect the ball from Alec Pierce, the Broncos deserved to lose.

Pick a reason. The missed assignments on coverage against tight end Tyler Warren and running back Jonathan Taylor. Bo Nix, who otherwise played well, “missing” on an unnecessary pass over the head of Courtland Sutton on an interception with the Broncos in field goal range early in the fourth quarter.

Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss (21) walks past the Indianapolis Colts football team after losing 29-28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)It should have been over. But Steichen wouldn’t let them surrender.

He ran Taylor into the line for one yard on three plays as the clock ticked, setting up a 60-yard field goal. It was the return of Hackett. Pure idiocy.

Steichen said he wanted to leave no time for the Broncos to get a kickoff return. OK. But to set up a monster boot for Spencer Shrader, who had never even attempted a 50-yarder as he bounced from three different teams over the last two seasons?

You all know what happened next. Snap. Short kick. Broncos celebrate and find out they were playing the role of a human Whoopee cushion. The officials announced a 15-yard leverage penalty on defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike. After the game, it was assigned to Tillman. Replays showed Uwazurike had a hand on the long snapper, and Tillman knifed in for the block. This call has been made roughly three times a season over the last 15 years.

By letter of the law, it was a foul, even though Rizzi, the special teams coordinator, told players afterward he did not see the penalty. Uwazurike and Tillman were genuinely surprised that it was called, wondering what they had done wrong. Did the Broncos get hosed? Probably. Was the play unnecessary? Absolutely.

When your friends ask you when the offseason bravado became hollow, bring up Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium and an ending that was just plain dumb.

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