The Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints are set to face off for the 13th time this week. The last time these two teams met, New Orleans won 31-3 in Denver. It wasn’t an ordinary game.
All four of the Broncos’ quarterbacks that week were deemed ineligible to play against the Saints after they violated COVID-19 protocol. Denver wasn’t able to sign a street free agent in time for the game due to the league’s COVID-19 testing rules that season.
The Broncos asked the NFL if assistant coaches Rob Calabrese or Justin Rascati could suit up at QB, but the league would not allow it because of rules that aim to prevent teams from stashing players on the coaching staff. So Denver turned to practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton, who was one month removed from working in sales.
Hinton (6-0, 195 pounds) was beaten up by the Saints, going 1-of-9 passing for 13 yards with two interceptions, one sack and a passer rating of 0.0. Despite the loss, Hinton was praised by fans and pundits for gutting it out and taking on an impossible task.
The Broncos and Saints will face off for the first time since that infamous game on Thursday. Denver leads the all-time series against New Orleans 9-3, including five straight wins leading up to the Hinton game.
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