Controversial roughing call costs Broncos again in heartbreaking loss to Jaguars
In Week 2, the Denver Broncos lost a heartbreaker at home to the Chicago Bears aided by a controversial roughing-the-passer penalty on Bradley Chubb that set up Eddy Pineiro for the game-winning 53-yard field goal as time expired.
Broncos fans will have to be excused if they thought they were watching a replay on Sunday.
Déjà vu — in a bad way
After watching Joe Flacco lead a late go-ahead touchdown drive against Jacksonville — just as he did against the Bears — they saw Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo break their hearts with a 33-yard field goal as time expired to secure a 26-24 victory at Mile High.
And just as Pineiro’s game-winner was aided by a 15-yard roughing penalty, so was Lambo’s.
Following Flacco’s touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders to give Denver a 24-23 lead, the Jaguars got the ball back at their own 25 with 1:32 remaining. On second-and-10, quarterback Gardner Minshew found DJ Chark for a one-yard gain after recovering his own fumble and getting rid of the ball under pressure.
Penalty saves Jags from third-and-long
But the one-yard gain turned into a 16-yard gain and an automatic first down after Von Miller was flagged for roughing Minshew as he released the ball. Where the flag on Chubb was a clear-cut bad call, Sunday’s penalty on Miller was questionable at best.
Miller made contact with Minshew as he released the ball. The hit wasn’t late. He hit Minshew across his shoulders with his right forearm and may have made marginal contact with his facemask.
The penalty advanced the ball to the 41, where Minshew hit Dede Westbrook for a 27-yard gain on the next play.
Six plays later, and Lambo was kicking the ball through the uprights to send Denver’s dismal season to 0-4 in front of a home crown that believes its Broncos are rightfully 2-2 and 2-0 at home.
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