By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos faced the New Orleans Saints on Sunday losing 31-3. Denver fell to 4-7 on the year. The story of the game was not the final score but who played quarterback for Denver. The Broncos were forced to use a mix of the wildcat formation and Kendall Hinton who is a practice squad wide receiver. Hinton had played the position before, but it was in college for Wake Forrest. His last appearance was in 2018.
Before the game, Denver ruled out all the quarterbacks on the roster including Jeff Driskel, Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles for this week. The reason why was Driskel tested positive for COVID19 and the other quarterbacks were in close contact with him not wearing masks. This meant they had to quarantine.
Hinton was in a tough spot and it showed. His passes were way off target and almost intercepted. The Broncos coaching staff tried to make him throw deep passes but never helped Hinton with short throws that could have moved the chains for more first downs. Hinton finished the game 1 of 9 for 13 yards and 2 interceptions. Denver finished the game with 112 total yards.
The league had its’ chance to move the game and failed to do so. Denver wanted the game to be played on Tuesday to give them time to have at least 1 healthy quarterback able to play. The NFL said no. The NFL should be embarrassed about their decision. It was an easy win for the Saints and not a great game to watch. It wasn’t even entertaining. The integrity of the game was at stake but the league still let it happen.
According to ESPN, Broncos safety Kareem Jackson said, “I feel like maybe [the game] could have been moved, but at the same time, maybe the league was making an example of us as far a s maybe not doing the things we needed to do in that particular room, that quarterback room. Obviously, the guys didn’t follow their protocols, and for [the NFL] to see that, I guess they felt like they had to make an example, so at the end of [the] day, it is what it is.
The NFL moved games before because of COVID. Here are just a few examples. In week 4 two games were moved. The Steelers were supposed to take on the Tennessee Titans but that game was rescheduled to week 7 because of positive tests from the Titans. In the same week, New England and Kansas City’s game was switched from Sunday to Monday because of COVID. In Week 6, Denver lost their bye week because New England had positive tests and played the next week. Kansas City was going to face Buffalo on Thursday but the NFL pushed it to Monday. Pittsburgh and Baltimore had two games rescheduled. The first was Week 7 that was shifted to the next week. They were also supposed to play on Thanksgiving and that was relocated to Tuesday.
The main theme with Pittsburgh, New England, Kansas City, and Baltimore is they all have superstar quarterbacks. These include Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson. It may have contributed to moving the game because these are the quarterbacks who are the face of the league. It is not a fact but rather my opinion.
For Denver, they tried to have the game moved but the NFL said no. If Denver had an owner who could have fought to change the NFL’s mind or even a superstar quarterback this game may have been moved. The NFL should be embarrassed with the product they allowed fans to watch on Sunday. It was very unwatchable. Hopefully, this will never happen again even if another team tests positive after failing to follow NFL COVID19 protocols with their quarterbacks or any other position.
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