It was a critical fourth-down decision that turned into a critical turnover, and then a critical lack of effort from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater flipped that into a critical touchdown for the Philadelphia Eagles instead.
Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon plunged into a pile on a 4th-and-1 dive, with the Eagles leading, 20-13, in the third quarter, and the ball popped out on the other side of the play. Cornerback Darius Slay scooped up the ball and sprinted back up the field, weaving through the Denver offense until he neared a group of players — with Bridgewater in the best position to make a play — near midfield. But Bridgewater just watched as Slay sped by and completed the 83-yard return for a touchdown.
“I’m just thinking, ‘Hey man, maybe I can force the ball back inside and one of our guys would make the tackle,’” Bridgewater said of the play.
Philadelphia’s lead stretched to two possessions, and the Broncos never recovered in a 30-13 loss.
“You sit in team meetings and you watch coach put up plays from throughout the league and two-minute situations or different things, and our defense has guys running toward the sideline,” Bridgewater said. “We always say, ‘The sideline is your friend, so try to force the ball back.’ That’s all I tried to do right there.”
Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said in his press conference that he didn’t see how the sequence unfolded because it occurred on the other side of the field, but “obviously it was a big play.” Denver’s final three possessions ended with two punts and a turnover on downs, while Bridgewater finished the game 22-of-36 for 226 yards, zero touchdowns or interceptions.
Bridgewater was traded to the Broncos this offseason after spending last season in Carolina and the previous two with New Orleans, gathering a sixth-round pick in return after starting 15 games for the Panthers last year. He’s started all 10 games for the Broncos this year, and has a 69.2% completion percentage. The 5-5 Broncos have already matched their win total from last season. The veteran has accumulated his most wins in a year since 2019 when he went 5-0 with the Saints when Drew Brees missed time with an injury.
Denver, which hosts the Los Angeles Chargers after a bye week next Sunday, scored three points in the second half of the loss to the Eagles, and dropped a game for the fifth time in the last seven weeks.
“We’re down there, even if we get stopped you hope for a field goal and you got a seven-point game at whatever point that was in the third quarter,” Fangio said. “And all of a sudden, it’s a 14-point game. So it was huge.”