The 4 Times Vic Fangio's Broncos Lost a Lead in the Final 30 Seconds

In Week 1, Fangio didn't use any of his timeouts as the Titans were in field goal range on the final drive. After the Titans made a field goal, the Broncos were down 2 with 17 seconds left. They lost. 

I heard a stat that this was the 4th time that Fangio's Broncos have lost a game where they were leading with 30 seconds to go. This was his 17th game. 4 out of 17 seemed high, indicating a repeated failure of clock management, but let's go deeper to find out.

 

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Week 2, 2019

Broncos were trailing 6-13 in the final two minutes. They convert a 4th and 3 with a minute to go, and get the touchdown with 31 seconds left. (They actually miss the PAT but Bears were offside, so the Broncos then went for two and got it, taking the lead 14-13 with 31 to go.) Against Trubisky and their kicking woes, this seemed safe. A terrible roughing the passer call helped the Bears get into field goal position and they actually made a 53-yarder. 

Verdict: Not a Fangio clock management issue

Week 4, 2019

Down 17-23 against the Jaguars, the Broncos had 1st and goal from the 8 with 1:32 to go. Got the touchdown on first down and took the lead. Ensuing drive, Broncos again get called for roughing the passer. The Jags get two big plays and get to the Denver 10 with 56 seconds left. BUT, the Broncos only had one timeout left. They had burned two on previous drives. They were unable to prevent the Jags from running the clock down and converting a chip shot.

Verdict: A Fangio clock management issue

Week 8, 2019

Once again on the final drive, the Broncos get called for a personal foul. When the Colts got to the Broncos 34, Denver started calling timeouts. They only had two, so when Vinatieri made a 51-yarder, the Broncos had 22 seconds left. It would be nice to have all three timeouts but at least they were using them at the right time. 

Verdict: A borderline Fangio clock management issue

So there you go. That 4 out of 17 stat makes it seem like an awful clock management situation, but really it's a team in a lot of close games AND the real issue was the three personal fouls.