Garett Bolles 'Blames Himself' for Broncos' Ugly Loss to Ravens

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Mike Tyson's iconic maxim aptly applies to how the sleep-walking Denver Broncos got knocked out by the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The Ravens laid low Broncos' starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and wideout Diontae Spencer in consecutive helmet-to-helmet hits, causing both to exit the game early. While questions on the legality of such contact can certainly be asked, it served its purpose for Baltimore’s ultra-aggressive head coach John Harbaugh.

Already missing starting guard duo Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow, the Broncos knew what was coming from the blitz-happy Baltimore defense, and losing Bridgewater just before halftime while trailing 17-7 proved fatal.

Post-game, left tackle Garett Bolles felt "the loss was on me" for putting his quarterback in harm’s way as the Broncos succumbed to their first loss of the season.

“I’m really angry at myself right now. That’s just unacceptable with the way I played today,” Bolles said. “I take that all upon myself, 100 percent. I’m my biggest critic. I know I have to go out there and fix my mistakes and continue to get back on track where I belong.”

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It’s been a while since Bolles has been put on roller-skates and even his old specter of yellow flags returned to haunt him. Anytime your starting QB gets knocked out of the game it’s going to sting, but Bolles' bad day at the office can’t be allowed to linger with a road trip to Pittsburgh next on the docket.

“Some days I’m going to have good days, and some days I’m going to have bad days,” Bolles said. “Today, I took a punch in the face. I just have to take my lickings, get up off the mat, get back next week, figure out what happened when I got knocked out, and get back up again.”

That particular sentiment was prevalent throughout the Broncos' locker room on Sunday because hopes were riding high that this team could make a real statement against a perennial playoff-caliber team.

Veteran pass rusher Von Miller was gracious enough to admit that Vic Fangio's game plan to contain Baltimore’s explosive QB Lamar Jackson had backfired, but was also bullish about the Broncos getting a second bite at the cherry when it comes to facing the Ravens.

“He presented a lot of problems and they [Ravens] did a great job today and we just have to do our job to stop them,” Miller said. “We’ll see them again. A team like that you got to play twice. We got out first go with them and we‘ll see those guys again.”

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