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Broncos Pay Price For Breaking Protocol; Was Playing A Punishment?

Broncos WR Kendall Hinton was forced into action as emergency QB in Sunday's lopsided lossGETTY IMAGES

The Broncos were forced to play yesterday’s game against the Saints, a 31-3 loss, despite not having a natural QB because the spread of COVID-19 “was contained” to that particular position and did not result in an outbreak throughout the team, according to a source cited by Ryan O’Halloran of the DENVER POST. The NFL “investigates every team that has alleged COVID protocol violations,” while the NFLPA “works with the league to control the spread of the virus, following a review of the facts and then the NFL office considers discipline for violations.” The league made the decision to play yesterday’s game “after a conference call with a group” that included Broncos President & CEO Joe Ellis and President of Football Operations & GM John Elway (DENVER POST, 11/30). ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Broncos "repeatedly asked the NFL (on Saturday), 'Can we move this game to Tuesday?'" Sources indicated that the "lack of a prominent owner in Denver hurt the Broncos’ chances of having the game moved." Schefter: “The league will tell you that it makes decisions purely based on a medical standpoint, not competition. But in this particular case, the Broncos felt like they don’t have an owner like a Robert Kraft, like an Art Rooney ... that can step forward and defend their team” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 11/29).

PLAYERS NOT FORTHCOMING: CBSSN’s Jason La Canfora reported the Broncos QBs “were not forthcoming about exactly what was going on there and the lack of proper facemasks and PPEs.” It became known on Saturday “that they had not been totally accurate” (“That Other Pregame Show,” CBSSN, 11/29). Fox’ Jay Glazer noted the NFL “has photographic evidence of all the quarterbacks sitting together maskless in a room, so it was the NFL’s decision to pull all those quarterbacks“ (“Fox NFL Sunday,” Fox, 11/29). ESPN’s Schefter said, “The league believes its job is basically to contain the spread of the virus and watch out for that. … With the Broncos, the quarterbacks were not wearing masks, and the league has been very clear that players must wear masks. They must do that at all times in the facility. There was a memo that went out Monday repeating that in all capital letters” (“Sunday NFL Countdown,” ESPN, 11/29).

TEAM NOTIFIED LATE: In Colorado Springs, George Stoia reports most of the frustration from Broncos players “stems from the fact that the league had video of the quarterbacks Thursday, but weren’t notified that they couldn’t play until Saturday” (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 11/30). Broncos S Kareem Jackson said, “I just felt like going into the game, we weren’t given a chance.” Jackson also “took the league to task for not being open to moving the game.” The POST’s O’Halloran notes the close-contact rule is “five days of isolation, but his point is well taken about playing Monday or Tuesday because it would have allowed the coaches and players valuable time to develop a game plan” (DENVER POST, 11/30). THE RINGER’s Riley McAtee wrote some Broncos players prior to the game “questioned why they had to play at all given the circumstances.” McAtee: “Judging by the way the game went, they clearly had a point” (THERINGER.com, 11/29). But USA TODAY’s Nate Davis writes it is “hard to blame the league for being unwilling to make concessions when exposures are contained given how hard the NFL has been preaching COVID-19 discipline for months” (USA TODAY, 11/30). NBC's Mike Florio said, "Strategic reasons are never going to prompt a postponement of a game. It’s only when there is an outbreak that has not yet been contained, as is happening in Baltimore” (“FNIA,” NBC, 11/29).

EXTREME PUNISHMENT? In L.A. Sam Farmer reports one reason the Broncos were unable to push the game back is because the NFL “is unreceptive to such requests when rules violations have occurred.” Jackson said, “Maybe the league felt like they had to make an example out of us” (L.A. TIMES, 11/30). USA TODAY’s Jarrett Bell: “Why didn’t the Broncos get a postponement? Maybe it was a form of punishment” (USA TODAY, 11/30). The POST's O’Halloran writes the Broncos “should blame the league, who wanted to make an example out of the quarterbacks.” While the QBs should be held accountable, the “punishment didn’t fit the crime” (DENVER POST, 11/30). In Colorado Springs, Woody Paige writes the NFL “made a mockery of its own sport by penalizing the Broncos more than any other franchise in the pandemic-spiked season.” The NFL is the “valid villain in this sordid episode, and there should have been a solution … to postpone or cancel the game” (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 11/30). In Toronto, Damien Cox writes the league was “clearly in a mood to punish the Broncos.” Cox: “Farce, is what it was. A 31-3 farce” (TORONTO STAR, 11/30).

INTEGRITY BLUES: In Denver, Mark Kiszla writes the Broncos “got the league’s hypocrisy rubbed in its face,” as the game “should never have been played if Commissioner Roger Goodell gave a hoot about integrity.” It was a “clown show that covered the NFL from head to toe in shame,” and the “hypocrisy of the NFL is simply too much to bear.” If starting QB Drew Lock’s name was Cam Newton or Lamar Jackson, the game “would have been delayed 24 or 48 hours to give Denver a fighting chance.” Kiszla: “Not 18 months after the death of longtime franchise owner Pat Bowlen, the Broncos don’t get any respect from the NFL” (DENVER POST, 11/30). In New Orleans, Luke Johnson wrote, “This game was a sham, and it never should have been played on Sunday. … The NFL should be ashamed that it allowed this product to see the light of day” (NOLA.com, 11/29). In Colorado Springs, Paul Klee writes, “No way, no how, no chance, should this game have been played. And that has nothing to be do with the score or protecting the integrity of the game. The NFL replaced one safety issue with a more dangerous safety issue and no longer gets to carry on and on about player safety again.” Broncos emergency QB Kendall Hinton and RB Phillip Lindsay serving as “tackling dummies against a violent Saints defense was ruled the safest option.” The league is “seriously lucky neither got seriously hurt” (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 11/30).

HAVING A "DESIGNATED SURVIVOR": ESPN’s Tim Hasselbeck noted the Broncos “basically had no chance to win that football game” after losing all of their QBs, and the "rest of the league should take note." The NFL prior to the season made clear that "when a position group gets wiped out, it doesn’t mean they’re going to cancel your football game.” Hasselbeck: “You see teams around the league going with a ‘designated survivor’ philosophy in certain position groups, having a quarterback and separating him from the rest of the quarterbacks." This should be a "message to the entire league that you need to be doing something like that so you don’t find yourself in a position like the Broncos” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 11/29).

ONLY IN 2020: ESPN’s Schefter called the Broncos' situation possibly the "single most unique, strange story I’ve seen in-season in 30-plus years of covering the NFL” (“World News Tonight,” ABC, 11/29).

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