Five takeaways from the Broncos' 10-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens

Another week, another disappointing loss at the hands of an impotent offense and a defense that cracks in the final minutes.

The Broncos led for more than 53 minutes but couldn’t hold out in the final minutes of Sunday’s 10-9 road loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Denver has now lost eight of its last nine games and sits second-to-last in the AFC with a 3-9 record.

Here’s what went down on Sunday…

The exact same story

Remember when the Broncos lost to the Seahawks on a ridiculously-long missed field goal as time expired?

Or when the defense collapsed and they lost to the Colts?

Or when the Chargers tied them up late and then the Broncos fumbled in overtime and gifted them a win?

Or when they got across midfield but couldn’t score to tie the game against the Jets?

Or when the Broncos threw a pick on the from the edge of the red zone in the final minute when trying to tie the game against the Titans?

Or when the Broncos collapsed at the end of regulation against the Raiders and immediately blew the game in OT?

Well, the same thing essentially happened on Sunday.

The Broncos’ defense was great all game. Then it gave up a 16-play drive that gave the Ravens a 1-point lead with 30 seconds to go.

The offense found a way to give Brandon McManus a 63-yard kick for the win. He missed it.

Here we are again.

Russ isn’t bad

Did Russell Wilson have a career game against the Ravens? Of course not, the Broncos only scored nine points.

But Russ was fine.

He completed 17 of his 22 passes. He picked up 189 yards on 8.6 yards per attempt. He didn’t turn the ball over. He evaded a couple of sacks. He added 21 yards on two carries, which both came in clutch time. He missed on a pass to Courtland Sutton.

Wilson was efficient but the volume wasn’t there. Maybe you can blame the play-calling for that. He had a C+ afternoon.

The pass rush returns

For the first time since trading Bradley Chubb a month ago, the Broncos pressured the quarterback on Sunday. Whether it was Lamar Jackson, who played the first quarter before leaving the game injured, or Tyler Huntley, the Ravens’ passer was consistently under duress.

DeShawn Williams had his first two sacks of the season. Baron Browning and Jonathan Cooper each had a sack, too. The Broncos hit the quarterback on five other occasions as well.

The Broncos sent pressure often, especially in the beginning of the game, and it worked. Manufacturing pressure means fewer players left behind to cover but the secondary was up to the task supporting the blitzes.

Latavius is Latavius

17 carries and 47 yards? Sounds like a Latavius Murray game.

Murray led the Broncos in carries for the sixth time in seven games since joining the Broncos. He had picked up four yards per carry heading into Sunday’s game but that number was buoyed by a 52-yarder last week. Sunday was the fifth time in seven games that Murray has averaged between 2.7 and 3.3 yards per carry.

The 32-year-old back hasn’t been given much to work with from his offensive line and his pretty much served his role; he’s eating up carries while most of the Broncos’ backs are hurt.

A few defenders have career days

Justin Simmons led the way with a pair of interceptions. One was a gift on a terrible pass from wide receiver James Proche. The other was a great play, though, when Simmons jumped a ball and set the Broncos up in position to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. He forced a fumble on the Ravens’ game-winning drive but the ball rolled out of bounds.

Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell also had career days, with both linebackers recording 17 tackles. Jewell also had a pressure that ended the Ravens’ first drive after he blew up a running back who tried to block him.