The Denver Broncos dominated the Carolina Panthers last week, winning 28-14. But in head coach Sean Payton's estimation, purportedly, it should have been a 35-7 Broncos victory — if not a 42-0 final tally.
Alas, a Lil'Jordan Humphrey fumble in the first quarter led to a Panthers touchdown drive. The Broncos would go on to score 28 unanswered, and just when the offense was about to make it 35-7, veteran wideout Courtland Sutton fumbled on the goal-line, coughing it up to the Panthers.
Carolina was able to drive the distance and score another touchdown in garbage time. The Broncos still won handily, but all 14 of Carolina's points came off of two turnovers, which is why the victory came with a certain air of dissatisfaction for Payton and company.
Entering this week's road tilt vs. the Baltimore Ravens, the Broncos won't be afforded any rope for turnovers and missed assignments. The margin for error against a playoff-bound opponent is razor thin.
"Certainly this will be our toughest challenge to date by far," Payton said on Wednesday. "This is a real, real good football team. Getting back to last week, we’re not going to be able to afford a few of those errors against a good team like this.”
When it comes to the genesis of the type of fumbles the Broncos had in Week 8, Humphrey's giveaway was due more to unnecessarily fighting for extra yards that weren't there. The defense eventually stood him up, and an opponent was able to pop the ball out. Sutton's was a bit different, especially because of the Broncos' plus field position at the time.
"Courtland’s was a little different, catching it real close to the [goal line]," Payton said. "So each one can be different, but it’s just that understanding. These guys [the Ravens] have forced fumbles at a high rate, and so that’s an important statistic as it relates to a game like this.”
By now, the Broncos players will have gotten Payton's message about ball security. Understanding the gravity of this game, against a top-level Conference opponent, the Broncos must be in ship-shape if they're to come out on top on the road again after winning to East Coast away games earlier this season.
