Cheap shot by Broncos player cost his team a chance for a comeback win
The Denver Broncos' undefeated campaign came to an end Sunday when they lost 27-24 to the Indianapolis Colts.
It was a close game right down to the final possession, where the Broncos cost themselves a good shot to make a last-ditch comeback effort with some stupid penalties.
The Broncos and their vaunted defense were one more stop away from getting the ball back with over two minutes to play.
Instead, after a two-yard run by Frank Gore to make it third-and-7, there was a scuffle between Broncos linebacker Von Miller and Colts tight end Dwayne Allen. That's when Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib came charging in and bizarrely poked Allen in the eye.
Talib was flagged for unnecessary roughness, a seven-yard penalty, giving the Colts a first down.
The Colts then ran out the clock, and the Broncos never got the ball back and never got the chance to make the comeback.
After the game, Allen was upset by what he called a "cheap shot" and said his eye still hurt:
"You're taught since little league football to play to the whistle within the boundaries of the game. I just felt like Aqib, who is a heckuva player, Pro Bowl player, a guy of his caliber I look up to, went outside the boundary of the game and decided to take a cheap shot. Out of nowhere, I saw something, and it went into my eye. First time I've ever been poked in the eye intentionally when I'm not on the bottom of the pile. Very blurry. My eye is still really sore."
Talib was incensed after the game, saying Allen overreacted: "I went over to poke his head, and I think my hand slipped and hit his face. He acted like he got in an 18-passenger car wreck. I guess that's what type of guy he is."
Seeing it up close, it certainly looked like an intentional move by Talib.
Talib was also flagged later in the same drive for what the referees called "berating an official." Talib said he was just clapping his hands, retorting, "A hard clap. Like there's something in the rule book for too hard of a clap. A too-hard-of-a-clap flag? That's the one I got."
This was the type of mindless collapse we haven't seen from the Broncos this year, particularly on the defensive end. It's nothing to get too worked up about since it's only the Broncos' first loss, but at the end of the year, if they're in need of a win, this is one they might wish they could take back.