Melvin Gordon might be losing the football, but apparently not the faith of the Denver Broncos' decision-makers.
Just ask Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, who maintains "great confidence" in Gordon despite the veteran running back committing two fumbles over the last three games — 15 across his seven-year career.
"Melvin’s one of the top backs in this league," Fangio said on Nov. 15. "He has fumbled it twice in the last three weeks as you mentioned. That’s something he has to put extra emphasis on to protect the ball moving forward, and that’s something that him and [Running Backs Coach] Curtis [Modkins] will do.”
Gordon's terminal case of butterfingers flared up amid Denver's Week 10 loss to Philadelphia, and it resulted in absolute disaster. His third-quarter miscue, occurring on 4th-and-1 carry from the Eagles' 23-yard line, was scooped and returned for a touchdown by Darius Slay — a.k.a. the now-infamous Teddy Play.
Gordon finished with nine carries for 45 yards and one TD in the 30-13 defeat, "adding" one catch for negative-two yards. The $8 million RB, unsigned beyond 2021, leads the Broncos this season with 522 rushing yards on 118 handles (4.4 YPC).
But Gordon's rookie understudy, human bowling ball Javonte Williams, is nipping at his heels having converted 103 totes into 514 ground yards (5.0 YPC), including a team-high six runs of 20-plus yards. Williams also has lost just one fumble.
Coming out of the bye week, however, the Broncos appear poised to leave the status quo unmolested. That means Gordon probably receives the first touch Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, and Williams alternating series thereafter.
With great confidence comes great job security.
"I mean, we’ve just got to get back to work," Fangio said after the Eagles game. "Coaches first and foremost, and then get our guys ready to play. We just need to have some good things happen to us, which will come through better coaching and better playing."
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