Quarterback Russell Wilson made his first trip back to Lumen Field to play his old team on Monday night, when the Seattle Seahawks hosted the Denver Broncos. The Broncos were the clear favorite, facing a less successful quarterback in Geno Smith, but the Seahawks shocked most everyone and came away with a 17-16 win.
The Broncos lost for many reasons, including their struggles in the red zone. The Broncos did not score a touchdown once in their four trips to the red zone and had two turnovers in the area.
Running back Melvin Gordon, who was responsible for one of those turnovers, fumbling the ball on the goal line, reflected on the team's struggles. He believes the Broncos are the better team, but the self-inflicted issues resulted in an L.
"We definitely beat ourselves," Gordon said after the loss (via NFL.com). "We got in the red zone multiple times. Couldn't convert ... We know we shot ourselves in the foot. We know we're the better team, but clearly we made more mistakes than they did. In the National Football League it doesn't matter if you're the better team or not. You make mistakes, you're going to lose."
The Broncos certainly made more mistakes than the Seahawks and any team unable to score in the red zone will have a hard time going home with a win.
Head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who made some questionable coaching decisions during the game, also discussed the red zone issues, saying the team needs to improve in that area.
"Just to start off with it, when you're 0-and-4 in the red zone, 12 penalties, two turnovers, it's not a good deal," the first-year head coach said. "Just got to be better in the red zone. That starts with me. Got to be sure we have a better plan and are able to get physical down there and score some touchdowns instead of field goals, or nothing at all."
Despite the sloppy loss, Gordon is not hitting the panic button.
"We're supposed to get the job done. We're not worried. We'll have our heads down for a couple of hours because we're competitors and we hate losing," he said.
The game came down to a Broncos missed 64-yard field goal with 20 seconds left, but if they had better execution in the red zone, Denver would not have been in such a desperate situation at the end of the game.
"In the end, we got to score in the red zone." Hackett said. "It's that simple and that starts with me."
The Broncos will face the Houston Texans next, who are coming off a tie against the Indianapolis Colts.
