The Colorado Springs Gazette final

3RD-QUARTER WOES

Russell Wilson and the Broncos offense aim to reverse trend of terrible third-quarter performances.

BY GEORGE STOIA george.stoia@gazette.com

ENGLEWOOD • There is no team in the NFL worse in the third quarter than the Denver Broncos.

For the Broncos, while the fourth quarter is where they often lost games, one could argue the third quarter is where things begin to fall apart.

This season, Denver has scored only 12 points in third quarter — safety in Week 3 against the 49ers, a field goal in Week 5 against the Colts and a touchdown in Week 8 against the Jaguars — which is the lowest of any time in the NFL. For reference, the Chiefs, which rank first in the NFL, have scored 79 points in the third quarter this year.

“We’ve got to come out and have a better third quarter,” quarterback Russell Wilson said. “Our third quarters have been why we are where we are. Not even part of it — a big part of it. We’ve had pretty good first halves for the most part, decent. Some have been better than others. The third quarter has slowed us down tremendously.”

If the Broncos want to change their season, Wilson is right — it starts in the third quarter.

They’ve only been outscored 2212 in third quarter this season, thanks to the defense being one of the best defensive units in the third quarter this season. Their 22 points allowed is second in the NFL.

But the offense failing to muster any points in third quarter is why in six of their 10 games they’ve entered the fourth quarter trailing.

And five of those six games were losses, failing to come-from-behind.

“That’s something that I’m really focused on over the next few days and then obviously going into this game and the rest of the games we have this year,” Wilson said. “Hopefully we can turn it around.”

And it’s obviously not only the third quarter where the Broncos are struggling. They’re averaging a league-low 14.7 points per game. Their best quarters this season have been the second and fourth quarters, scoring 54 points in the second and 42 in the fourth, which is still not good, ranking 30th and 27th in the NFL, respectively.

And they’ve only scored 13 touchdowns this season — Lions running back Jamaal Williams has scored 13 touchdowns alone this season.

And that, no matter what quarter it is, is the root of all the Broncos’ issues this season.

“In the end, the offense — we have to score more points. Let’s face it — we’re not scoring enough points,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said.

“We got to do everything we can to get more touchdowns across the board. The one thing I’ll tell you about this team, which is great to see in all these close games, is how hard they’re all playing.

“They’re out there, they’re fighting nonstop. That’s what I love about this group. They’re staying together, they’re fighting and they’re doing everything they can so we can be in position to win the game.

“That’s something that’s great to see. We now have to find a way to finish.

“It’s that simple. Making those key plays because in this league, those key plays can completely change the entire game.

“I’m excited to see where we go next. Let’s go get a win.”

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2022-11-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/282544432316951

The Gazette, Colorado Springs