Biggest Winners & Losers From Broncos' 32-31 Loss to Raiders in Season Finale
The Denver Broncos snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Sunday's season finale, falling to the Las Vegas Raiders in the closing seconds of the game 32-31. The Broncos finish the season 5-11 — exactly what Vance Joseph accomplished in his forgettable first year as head coach.
Vic Fangio has not been able to move the needle forward since taking over as head coach in January of 2019. But, hey, at least the Broncos earned another top-10 pick.
There were some very notable performances in the Broncos' final game of the year, both good and bad. Let's get to the biggest winners and losers from the season finale.
Winner: Drew Lock | QB
Lock needed to punctuate his first year as the starter with an emphatic performance signaling to the front office that he's worth keeping as The Guy in 2021. Lock did that, with gusto, snapping his ignominious streak of games with at least one giveaway and finishing with a career-high 339 passing yards and two touchdowns. It ended in defeat but not for lack of anything Lock could control.
Winner: Jerry Jeudy | WR
After his five-drop game last week, Jeudy was another young Bronco who needed a strong finish. He delivered, catching 5-of-7 targets, as well as a successful two-point conversion, for 140 yards and a touchdown. His 92-yard catch-and-run to paydirt represented the Broncos' longest play from scrimmage in 12 years, while serving as the third-longest reception ever by a Denver rookie and the sixth-longest passing play in franchise annals. It gave the Broncos the lead back late in the game, though the defense would quickly relinquish it.
Winner: Michael Ojemudia | CB
It wasn't perfect but the rookie provided a solid and game-changing performance at the severely-depleted cornerback position. It was Ojemudia's second game this season with multiple forced fumbles, making him just the third NFL rookie cornerback in the last 20 years to forced four fumbles in a season.
Winner: Melvin Gordon | RB
Gordon started the game 107 yards short of a 1,000-yard rushing season and came up 14 yards short. However, he finished with 93 yards on the ground and a touchdown on 26 carries (3.6 avg.). Gordon's first year as a Bronco ends with 986 rushing yards.
Winner: Dre'Mont Jones | DL
Jones led the team with 1.5 sacks, helping to keep Derek Carr slumping. The Broncos lacked any edge pressure but Jones' interior push gave the defense a fighting chance. He finished his second season with 6.5 sacks, good for third-most on the team.
Winner: Tyrie Cleveland | WR
Cleveland finished with a career-best four catches (on five targets) for 45 yards with three of his receptions resulting in third-down conversions. He was a life-saver initially when Tim Patrick exited with a foot injury. Would that the Broncos had looked his way at all in the second half.
Winner: Broncos O-Line
For an offensive line that lost two starters to attrition in-game (LG Dalton Risner and RG Graham Glasgow), the Broncos' big uglies did a good job. Garett Bolles continued his All-Pro caliber play and the Broncos paved the way for 122 rushing yards. Lock was sacked twice, which was a near-miracle considering the circumstances.
Loser: Vic Fangio | HC
Fangio botched the game management aspect of his responsibility as head coach once again, perfectly mirroring his Week 1 bang-up job. Fangio's ill-timed and ill-advised timeouts late in the fourth quarter gave Jon Gruden a lifeline, setting the Raiders up for their final touchdown and go-ahead two-point conversion. Adding insult to injury, when the Broncos needed just one more stop, while protecting a lead, Fangio's defense came up small yet again, continuing another theme of his tenure as head coach.
Loser: Brandon McManus | K
I don't want to be too hard on McManus but he missed three field goals on the day. The caveat: each was from 55-plus yards out. It wouldn't be so glaring if A.) the Broncos didn't need each kick so badly and B.) he wasn't so vocal about demanding such opportunities to kick deep in the thin air of Mile High. He finished 3-for-6 on field goals, two of which were blocked, including the final attempt from 63 yards out, angled low (no doubt) to give the boot some added power.
