The Denver Broncos didn't have a realistic chance to beat the New Orleans Saints Sunday, even with Taysom Hill and the Saints offense struggling to throw the football. All the Saints needed was a touchdown to upend the Broncos in a 31-3 blowout victory -- a game in which Denver started running back Phillip Lindsay at quarterback due to all the quarterbacks on the active roster ruled high risk for COVID-19, following Jeff Driskel's placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier in the week.
Practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton took the majority of snaps at quarterback, finishing 1 of 9 for 13 yards with two interceptions and a passer rating of zero. The Broncos were the first team since the 1998 San Diego Chargers to have more interceptions than completions in a game. You simply can't win a game like that.
Having a practice squad wide receiver at quarterback was a bad look for the Broncos and Denver safety Kareem Jackson thinks the NFL was trying to make a statement to take COVID-19 seriously.
"I feel like maybe (the game) could have been moved, but at the same time, maybe the league was making an example of us as far as maybe not doing the things we needed to do in that particular room, that quarterback room," Jackson said after the loss, per ESPN's Jeff Legwold. "Obviously, the guys didn't follow their protocols, and for (the NFL) to see that, I guess they felt like they had to make an example, so at the end of (the) day, it is what it is."
Denver became the first team to complete just one pass in a game since the 2005 San Francisco 49ers with Cody Pickett. Hinton was 0 for 7 with an interception in the first half as Denver became the first NFL team since the 2011 Broncos with Tim Tebow to finish a half without a completion. The Broncos gained just 112 yards of offense, their fewest in a home game since 1966.
Want inside access into this unprecedented NFL season? Download and subscribe to All Things Covered with Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden for a player's perspective including their insight on COVID-19 disrupting the league.
Denver's quarterback dilemma could have been avoided as starting quarterback Drew Lock apologized for Denver's quarterbacks showing a lapse in judgment at a meeting earlier in the week. Lock said Broncos quarterbacks "let our masking slip for a limited amount of time in a controlled and socially distanced area," which put all the signal callers at a high-risk for COVID-19, making them ineligible to play.
Jackson also recognized the lapse in judgment by Denver's signal callers.
"Obviously, it's our guys' fault for not wearing their masks, but at least maybe move the game to the next day or whenever so we're given a fighting chance," Jackson said. "(It's) obviously disappointing. I'm not sure why it wasn't moved. I have no clue ... as a competitor, definitely frustrating."
