Denver couldn't contain the Houston Texans on Sunday, as they dropped their second straight game, a 31-25 loss to the Houston Texans. Peyton Manning and the offense once again struggled to find a rhythm early in the game and the defense couldn't contain the powerful Texans offense, leading to yet another close loss when they couldn't complete the comeback.
SB Nation's Broncos blog, Mile High Report, blamed the loss on execution and plenty of missed chances that the Broncos squandered:
Dropped Passes were a huge problem today. I'm not going to play the blame game or get into "What if" scenarios, so this isn't me pointing fingers at single players. This is a team game and the Broncos didn't lose because of one player or one play.
Nevertheless, the stat line shows that there were numerous dropped passes. Demaryius Thomas was targeted 12 times, finishing with 4 catches for 36 yards. Jacob Tamme was targeted 10 times. He made 3 catches for 31 yards. Now Peyton Manning was 26/52. The stats say he targeted his receivers 50 of those times, so they must be counting two throwaways. The Houston Defense is credited with 10 Pass Break Ups so that makes 14 dropped balls. You can factor that into the next category.
The Broncos will get a chance to up their stock when they play the Raiders next weekend at Sports Authority Field. Other than a surprise win over the Steelers in Week 3, Oakland has had a dire start to 2012.
For more on the Texans, be sure to visit Battle Red Blog and SB Nation Houston. For additional coverage on the Broncos, head over to Mile High Report and SB Nation Denver.