The Colorado Springs Gazette final

Melvin Gordon needs a group hug COMMENTARY

PAUL KLEE paul.klee@gazette.com/636-0140

LAS VEGAS • Before you swear Melvin Gordon’s name and stick another pin in a No. 25 Voodoo doll, consider the tears wept by the Broncos running back after his blunder sent the Broncos to yet another loss to the Raiders.

In a bad situation, the easiest route is to point fingers. Thumbs up are more productive.

“The best ones, they respond,” quarterback Russell Wilson said Sunday after a Gordon fumble sunk the Broncos in a fifth-straight loss to the Raiders, 32-23, inside Allegiant Stadium.

“I believe in Melvin Gordon responding.”

Does Broncos Country? Because you’re about to need Melvin Gordon more than you need a win over the Raiders, who own a fivegame win streak in the rivalry for the first time since

the early 1990s, almost 30 years ago. Broncos Country must hope and pray Gordon suddenly becomes the second coming of Floyd Little or Terrell Davis, with the stickiest hands since Daniel Ocean robbed The Bellagio up the road.

At the tail end of the worst Vegas trip since Phil, Alan and Stu took the wrong kind of drugs, the Broncos watched as star running back Javonte Williams left the joint leaning on a pair of crutches. Williams hurt a knee on the first snap of the second half and exited on the injury cart.

Sheesh, no wonder they call this place the “Death Star.” When is the next flight out?

“Seeing my boy ‘Vonte go down, that’s the worst feeling in the world,” running back Mike Boone told The Gazette. “That’s my guy. It’s heartbreaking. He’s just a great dude.”

Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett had no update on Williams’ status for the rest of the season.

The emotion I saw from his teammates said the “Pookie” story won’t have a happy ending this year.

“(With ‘Vonte), once you see how hard he works, the effort he puts in, the type of guy he is, it just sucks. It sucks,” Boone said.

The weight of the Williams’ injury is going to fall on Gordon’s shoulders. He’s the next running back up. Gordon has banked $33.7 million over his career. But I can tell you without a doubt the Broncos goat felt like a big, fat zero when his fumble doomed the Broncos to defeat. Case in point: It’s not often you see an NFL veteran shed real tears after a Week 4 ballgame.

Those were real tears Gordon cried as he walked off a news conference staged so he could explain what happened. Well, here’s what happened. Close your eyes if it still hurts: On his first carry, deep into the second quarter, Gordon coughed up the football and Raiders defensive back Amik Robertson, the luckiest man on The Strip, returned it 68 yards for a score.

Touchdown, Rrrrrraaiders. Heartbreak, Broncos.

“Ain’t no excuse for it,” Gordon said, starting to crack.

Why did his mistake hurt so bad it made a grown man cry? It wasn’t because Don Felder handled the halftime entertainment in Vegas, and nobody really likes “The Eagles.” It wasn’t because the Broncos lost an AFC West game, or because Gordon’s fantasy football stats took a blow. It was because Gordon let down his boys, and anyone who’s competed in a team sport knows there’s no worse feeling in sports.

“I care about them boys more than I do any fan, any person,” Gordon said. “Them boys believe in me.”

Do they? Long after the fumble, the Broncos had the ball on the 1-yard line. Wilson was given the option of handing off to Gordon or taking it himself. Wilson chose Door No. 2 and scored.

Wilson and Gordon were teammates all the way back at Wisconsin. I asked Russ how he can get his boy right before the Broncos host the Colts in four short days, on Thursday Night Football.

Wilson responded: “I told (Gordon): ‘You’re one of the best guys who’s ever played this game at this position. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget that.’”

True or false, Wilson’s message to Gordon was exactly what a man who’s down in the dumps needs to hear: “Do you think that Adrian Peterson never fumbled? Or Walter Payton or Barry Sanders or anybody? Stuff’s going to happen.”

Hey, it’s not Gordon’s fault that Broncos boss George Paton slid a one-year contract in front of Gordon and asked him to sign. Gordon needed a fresh start somewhere else, where past fumbles weren’t so fresh in his psyche. But who wouldn’t take the biggest and best deal offered to him?

Blame the Broncos, not Gordon.

“I’m sure people are going to be hard on Melvin,” lineman Dalton Risner said.

Anger is so ingrained in society at the moment that lashing out is the knee-jerk reaction when something goes wrong. But right now Gordon needs a hug more than he needs a scolding.

Nobody gives a better group hug than Mile High in prime time.

Is it unthinkable that Broncos fans could do a man a solid and add chants of “Melvin! Mel-vin!” to their arsenal on Thursday?

You need him, and Lord knows he needs you.

SPORTS

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2022-10-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

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The Gazette, Colorado Springs