Tag: Brandon McManus

Despite mega contract, Broncos put faith in kicker over Russell Wilson

But the clock management wasn’t the most the most head scratching decision made by the Broncos.

As is the case with every thrilling game, the ending is usually the most discussed and debated. Such is the case for the Denver Broncos following their 17-16 upset defeat to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

Despite fumbling twice on the goal line, the Broncos were in a prime position to leave Seattle with a road victory. Denver’s defense had completely shut the Seahawks out offensively in the second half. Trailing by only one point Russell Wilson and the Broncos offense got the ball back with roughly four minutes and all three time outs.

What transpired next was some of the most baffling clock management and decision making in recent memory. The Broncos started the drive at their 22-yard line and it took them 10 plays to advance only 32 yards. They finally faced a 4th-and-5 from Seattle’s 46-yard line and that’s all she wrote offensively speaking.

Denver arrived at Seattle’s 46-yard line with a minute left but let the clock burn until their was only 20 seconds left before calling their *first* time out, much to the chagrin of Broncos legends Peyton Manning and Shannon Sharpe.

But the clock management wasn’t the most the most head scratching decision made by the Broncos. Instead of going for it on 4th down head coach Nathaniel Hackett elected to kick a *checks notes* 64-yard field goal for the win.

Going into Monday night, Broncos kicker Brandon McManus was 0-5 (now 0-6) in his career when attempting field goals of 62+ yards. According to ESPN Stats & Info, kickers since 1960 were only 2-for-42 attempting field goals of 64+ yards.

The Broncos traded two first round picks, two second round picks, a fifth round pick and willingly offered an extension worth up to $245 million dollars to obtain Russell Wilson. When push came to shove in crunch time, Nathaniel Hackett put his faith in his kicker to make a historically improbable play instead of his quarterback, who had already thrown for 340 yards, to get at least five more.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has been often criticized for seemingly taking the ball out of Wilson’s hands during crucial moments in games. Through one week, this trend has seemingly followed Wilson to Denver.

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Studs and duds from Broncos’ loss to Seahawks

The Broncos’ one-point loss to the Seahawks on Monday night had its fair share of good and bad.

The Denver Broncos opened their 2022 season with a heart-breaking 17-16 loss in primetime against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday. Here’s a quick look at five studs and duds from the game.

Broncos coaches, players react to final missed 64-yard field goal

Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett took the ball out of Russell Wilson’s hands at the end of the game. Here’s how everybody reacted.

SEATTLE, Wash. — On Sunday, we put up a list of the most questionable coaching decisions in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season.

Leave it to new Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett to outdo everybody else in Week 1 when it came to specious play calls.

In their 17-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field, the Broncos, who were supposed to be a quarterback away from Super Bowl contention, failed and fumbled in the red zone more often than anybody could have expected. Russell Wilson, the quarterback Denver decided was the missing piece, completed 29 of 42 passes for 340 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

But it was the play Wilson wasn’t allowed to make that made all the difference. With 1:11 left in the game, Wilson hit running back Javonte Williams for a nine-yard gain that took the ball to the Seattle 46-yard line. The Broncos and Seahawks then traded timeouts, and Denver let the clock run to 20 seconds with two timeouts left in their pockets.

Then, rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett made the call to send kicker Brandon McManus out to attempt a 64-yard field goal that had the distance, but missed left. And with that, the quarterback the Broncos traded three players and a huge haul of draft picks to acquire, was not entrusted with the game at the most crucial turn.

The math really didn’t add up with this decision. Most likely, Hackett was reacting to his team’s ability to get anything done in the red zone.

Seahawks defensive lineman Shelby Harris, one of the three players traded from Denver to Seattle, had a definitive set of answers regarding Seattle’s determination in the most important points. Denver fumbled more than once at the opposing one-yard line — two straight drives in the third quarter ended this way, — and the offense just seemed off all over the place.

What did the Broncos have to say about the final disaster from Hackett and Wilson on down? We have the answers.

Brandon McManus sees similar work ethics between Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson

“They’re both, to me, the hardest workers and super studiers,” #Broncos kicker Brandon McManus said of Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.

The Denver Broncos brought in quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason and they are now ready to compete for the playoffs again.

To some fans, it feels similar to when the team signed Peyton Manning in 2012. Broncos kicker Brandon McManus can see some similarities between Wilson and Manning.

“They’re both, to me, the hardest workers and super studiers,” McManus said of Manning and Wilson last week. “They know what everyone is going to do before they know what they’re going to do. That’s such a unique talent and testament to their work ethic.”

McManus was Denver’s kicker when they won Super Bowl 50 in 2015. While he believes both QBs have a similar work ethic, McManus is not yet ready to say the 2022 Broncos will be a repeat of the 2015 team — he knows this year’s roster still has to prove itself.

“We’re still an unproven team,” McManus said. “We have a lot of young guys that haven’t won. We have to learn how to win and win consecutively. One thing that I was saying to some of the guys upstairs about is everyone talks about the culture change and stuff.

“It’s been exciting to be around everybody in there, but one of the things I want to see is when we get to a pressure-packed situation where things aren’t going our way, how do we act? Do we fall back into that hole we have been in the past couple of years, or have we really changed and push through? I’m looking forward to that and I’m looking forward to a lot of these new guys playing.”

The new guys are, of course, highlighted by Wilson. And while McManus is quite ready to crown the team as contenders again, fans in Denver have reason for optimism going into the 2022 season.

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Russell Wilson among Broncos’ 5 team captains for 2022 season

Broncos team captains for 2022: Russell Wilson, Courtland Sutton, Justin Simmons, Bradley Chubb and Brandon McManus.

No surprise — Russell Wilson is among the Denver Broncos’ five team captains for the 2022 NFL season, the team announced Tuesday.

The team’s captains were voted on by players, with Wilson joined by wide receiver Courtland Sutton as an offensive captain.

On defense, safety Justin Simmons and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb were also voted captains. And on special teams, kicker Brandon McManus will serve as the team’s fifth captain.

Sutton, Simmons and McManus are returning captains. Last year, that trio was joined by ex-quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (offense), ex-outside linebacker Von Miller (defense) and safety Kareem Jackson as the team’s six captains in 2021.

Wilson, Sutton, Simmons, Chubb and McManus will now lead Denver into the 2022 season, starting with a Monday Night Football showdown with the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 12. That contest will mark Wilson’s first return to Seattle after he was traded to the Broncos earlier this offseason.

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Broncos blasted by Bills 42-15 in second preseason game

The Denver Broncos came back to earth after a win against the Dallas Cowboys, losing to the Buffalo Bills 42-15.

The Denver Broncos lost big to the home team Buffalo Bills 42-15 in their second preseason game of 2022.

The Broncos continued to rest most of their offensive and defensive starters, with quarterback Josh Johnson getting the nod for the second straight game.

After a promising start to the game, where Johnson led the Broncos on a 12-play, 64-yard drive ending in a Brandon McManus field goal, the Bills never looked back.

Buffalo began the game with their first-team offense against the Denver backups, quickly going down the field for a 70-yard touchdown drive. The Bills went on to shred the Broncos defense for six straight touchdown drives, while the Denver offense stalled drive after drive.

After a tough game against the Dallas Cowboys last week, Brett Rypien rebounded nicely in the second half in Baffalo, going 22-of-26 for 191 yards and the Broncos’ only touchdown of the game to tight end Eric Saubert.

The Denver return game again shined, with Montrell Washington returning two kickoffs for 55 total yards, his longest going for 35 yards.

In addition, one of the few bright spots came in the form of receiver Jalen Virgil, who returned two kicks for 60 total yards, his longest going for 30 yards. Virgil also tacked on two receptions for 39 yards. Virgil is quickly climbing the receiving ladder in the absence of Tim Patrick.

Kicker Brandon McManus also finished the game 3-of-3 on field goal attempts.

This week, every team must cut five players, trimming the roster from 85 to 80 by Tuesday, August 23. The Broncos play their final preseason game in Denver against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, August 27.

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Broncos stock up/down: Risers and fallers after first preseason game

Who impressed in the Broncos’ preseason win over the Cowboys on Saturday?

Although the starters on the offense and defense of the Denver Broncos did not start against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night, the Broncos came away with a dominant 17-7 victory over the visitors.

Here are seven risers and fallers for Denver following the team’s first preseason game of 2022.

Broncos place QB Teddy Bridgewater on IR, make 15 other roster moves

The Broncos placed QB Teddy Bridgewater on IR and made 15 other roster moves Wednesday.

The Denver Broncos placed three players on injured reserve and activated 13 players from COVID-19 lists on Wednesday, the team announced. Here’s a quick look at the team’s transactions.

 

 

Broncos not bringing in kickers or punters ‘for now,’ hoping McManus, Martin return soon

Brandon McManus and Sam Martin are both on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, but the Broncos are hoping they will be cleared by Saturday.

The Denver Broncos’ COVID-19 list is growing.

Denver had 12 active roster players miss Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers with COVID-19, and two more players were added to the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday.

Broncos kicker Brandon McManus and punter/holder Sam Martin have been added to the COVID reserve list, but they have enough time to possibly be cleared for Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs if they test negative before then.

Denver is clearly counting on the possibility that at least one of its specialists will clear protocol, because the team is “not planning on bringing kickers and punters in for tryouts” at the moment, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Of note, McManus has some experience punting and Martin has experience kicking, so one of them could fill both roles if needed.

To fill the two open spots on the active roster after placing McManus and Martin on reserve, the Broncos promoted defensive lineman Jonathan Harris and wide receiver Seth Williams from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Monday.

Denver also released defensive linemen Carlo Kemp and Deyon Sizer from the practice squad on Monday. Kemp and Deyon were signed over the weekend as emergency COVID-19 backups on the defensive line.

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This is why Brandon McManus was so angry after missed field goal vs. Raiders

“There was nothing anyone could do, not his fault, not my fault,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said after a late spot gave Brandon McManus little time to prep for a field goal attempt.

Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus converted a pair of field goal attempts in the second quarter of Sunday’s 17-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, but it was his reaction to a miss that had social media buzzing.

After converting 49- and 55-yard attempts in the first half, McManus missed a 55-yard attempt in third quarter. McManus was clearly frustrated about the situation and the kicker and made his displeasure known to coach Vic Fangio.

After the game, Fangio explained what happened.

“They were late spotting the ball,” Fangio said of the game’s officials. “I wasn’t sure if it was fourth-and-1, fourth-and-2, fourth-and-3. They were late putting the ball down, it happened on the other sideline. It put a delay in the action and Brandon was a little upset that he didn’t know early enough to go out there. There was nothing anyone could do, not his fault, not my fault.

“We didn’t know the down and distance, whether it was fourth-and-1/2 a yard, or whatever it was. If it was a yard or less, I was going to go for it and we had to wait for the spot.”

This isn’t the first time McManus has had beef with Fangio. Two years ago, the kicker was upset after Denver’s coach did not let him attempt a 65-yard field goal against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“He hasn’t been here that long to see my total range in training camp over the years and stuff like that,” McManus said in 2019. “I knew I could make it.”

McManus, who is signed with the Broncos through the 2024 season, potentially might not have to worry about clashing with Fangio beyond this season, depending on the decision Denver’s front office makes in the coming weeks.

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