Heading into Sunday, no team had blown a halftime lead of more than 20 points since late in the 2014 season.
Thanks to the Broncos and Vikings, that counter has been reset. Denver’s 20-0 halftime lead disappeared in the second half and they went down to a 27-23 defeat when three throws into the end zone went incomplete in the final 10 seconds of the game.
Sunday’s game might be the most glaring example that the Broncos have trouble finishing games, but it isn’t the first one. They’ve lost three games on field goals in the final minute and head coach Vic Fangio expressed confidence after the game that the team will see one of these games through at some point in the near future.
“I think we’re close, obviously, as you alluded to. But we haven’t gotten over the top well enough yet,” Fangio said, via Nicki Jhabvala of TheAthletic.com. “We did in our previous game with the stop and then the ensuing first down to close it, but this game, we didn’t get it done. We’ll eventually get it done. These guys are good guys. They’re working their butts off. They enjoy coming to work. They like playing. We’ll just keep grinding and keep pounding, and eventually, we’ll get through.”
The Broncos outgained the Vikings 217-47 in the first half while forcing a pair of turnovers and sacking Kirk Cousins three times. Neither the offense nor the defense was able to keep things up for 60 minutes and times will remain tough in Denver until both units can turn in a full 60 minutes of good work.