The apathy in the Denver Broncos fan base was on full display in the gaps of no-shows at Empower Field at Mile High for Sunday's tilt vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Merely playing for pride didn't sit easily with an astonishing number of 18,423 Broncos fans who didn't bother to turn up for a battle of backup quarterbacks.
Ultimately, Broncos back-up QB Brett Rypien emerged victorious against a Cardinals team that was down to third-string signal-caller, Trace McSorley, after Colt McCoy suffered an in-game concussion.
While a growing percentage of fans are tapping out on another season without playoff football, the Broncos players are still going hard. Despite losing so many players to injury, and through some heartbreaking defeats, the players have remained united.
Understandably, with the Broncos forced to turn to Rypien, it made perfect sense to commit to running the ball. Latavius Murray only joined the team in late October, but he assumed the RB1 designation after the Broncos finally cut bait with Melvin Gordon.
Murray rushed for 130 yards and a score against the Cardinals, which was no mean feat, especially when you consider the patchwork O-line he was running behind gave up seven sacks on the day. The much-traveled runner even received the first game ball of his distinguished 10-year career after his stellar performance and was nominated for FedEx Ground Player of the Week.
Murray explained post-game how as a late-comer to Denver, he still found a way to set his own tone.
“I wasn’t with them in training camp, but they’ve embraced me. I really appreciate that,” Murray said. “It’s not easy. I’m just appreciative of that [of] the team embracing me. I really have enjoyed playing with this team a lot. I’m just thankful for the guys in that locker room. Thankful that I can go out there and battle with them, and I think that’s why it feels even better when you’re doing it with guys like that.”
On the defensive side of the ball, star safety and team captain Justin Simmons has set the tone, particularly in the last two games, where he has come up with four interceptions. Post-game, Simmons insisted that Sunday's win provided some overdue evidence that Denver could play all three phases successfully.
“That was ecstatic. That is what we have struggled to do most of the year,” Simmons said. “There have been games where the defense strings together a couple good series. There have been games where the offense strings together a couple of good series. Special teams too. It just seems like we were not able to bring it all together. A lot games this year came down to one-score games and those are the difference-makers. Today, I thought we did a great job.”
Next up for the Broncos is a trip to face the Los Angeles Rams for what will be a nationally televised Christmas Day game. Head coach Nathaniel Hackett quickly chose to double down on his repeated assertions that doing the basics right can indeed deliver wins.
With Hackett’s template for winning football being self-evident, the Broncos will attempt to copy and paste next week.
“I am going to enjoy this one right now. We will get ready to game plan for the Los Angeles Rams, another good football team. Every team is very good,” Hackett said. “We just need to keep getting better. We need to keep fighting for each other and go out there and play football. It does not matter if it is on national television or if it is not. It is about us being able to execute, going out there and doing some good things.”
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