DENVER — Case Keenum was the latest to find out how tough this town can be on quarterbacks.
Bronco fans know a great quarterback when they see one because for a combined 20 years they cheered John Elway and Peyton Manning, a period that garnered seven Super Bowl appearances and three world titles.
But for all the love Bronco fans have for their team and players, they have not always been easy on quarterbacks not named Elway and Manning, a group that included the likes of Brian Griese, Jake Plummer, Jay Cutler, Kyle Orton or, as recently as the preseason, Paxton Lynch.
And now Case Keenum.
The Broncos battled valiantly in the second half to give the undefeated the Los Angeles Rams a contest here Sunday afternoon, but undefeated the Rams remained as they held on for a 23-20 win on a cold, but disappointingly dry mid-October game before a sellout, but relatively-low turnout crowd of 66,888 at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
It was 20-3 Rams at one point and it was going so bad for the Broncos, hometown boos rained on Keenum and the offense.
"I heard it,'' Keenum said. "It's not the first time that the crowd's been unhappy with what's going on the field that I've played with. They should be (ticked). I'm (ticked). We have to do better. We can keep saying that but we have to do it.''
Apparently, it’s easier to boo the offense than the defense because the Denver D also deserved its share of vocal criticism. Todd Gurley II was the latest running back to gash the the Broncos' defense as he had 208 yards rushing and two touchdowns. It's the second consecutive week the Denver D has allowed a 200-yard rusher as the New York Jets' Isaiah Crowell reached the difficult milestone last week.
In their past two games, the Denver D has allowed 593 yards rushing on 7.7 yards per carry.
"It's pathetic, man, it really is,'' said Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe. "It's pathetic and I'm embarrassed. And when I say embarrassed, I'm pointing the finger at myself. I've never been part of something like that.''
Highlights? The Broncos had a few. Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb had a breakout game as he tied a team rookie record with three sacks.
"It's good and all that to get to the quarterback three times, but it's not good enough, you know what I'm saying?'' Chubb said.
Von Miller had 1.5 sacks. He said he was close to getting one more.
"Close don't really do it for you in the National Football League,'' he said after his Broncos suffered their fourth consecutive loss to drop their overall record to 2-4.
Down 20-3 late in the third quarter, the Broncos got a break when the Rams tried to pass out of their end zone. A Jared Goff pass was deflected by Broncos' cornerback Tramaine Brock. The ball bounced off the facemask of Rams receiver Josh Reynolds and ricocheted backwards into the arms of Broncos safety Darian Stewart at the Los Angeles' 12 yard line.
It was a silly series of play calls by Rams head coach Sean McVay. Up 17 late in the third and call two pass plays from your own end zone when the Denver D had shown zero signs of stopping the run?
"I thought I put us is some horrible spots throughout the game really getting impatient, forcing things that weren't there,'' McVay admitted. "The players bailed me out finding a way to get a win.''
McVay's Rams had scored at least 33 points in each of their first five wins. He must have felt out of sorts running the ball so successfully and yet only scoring 23 in this one.
And so with the turnover, Keenum threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Sanders to pull the Broncos within 10. The Rams then missed a field goal while the Broncos drove down for a 24-yard field goal by Brandon McManus to close within one score, 20-13 with 8:54 left in the fourth quarter.
A Keenum touchdown pass with 1:22 left to Demaryius Thomas pulled the Broncos within 23-20, but McManus' onside kick attempt didn't fool the Rams and that was that.
"We shouldn't even be in that position,'' Wolfe said. "We've got to stuff them early instead of waiting till the fourth quarter to get our fire.''
Three bad penalties – a taunting call on receiver Emmanuel Sanders and flags for holding on left tackle Garett Bolles and new right guard Max Garcia – hurt the Broncos’ offense in the first half.
Denver Broncos vs. Los Angeles Rams
The Broncos should have gone up 7-6 late in the first quarter but a replay overturn, and a Sanders’ taunting penalty, cost them four points.
Keenum lofted a beautiful pass to Sanders for an apparent 44-yard touchdown. Sanders put on a move-and-go on cornerback Troy Hill, then came up and taunted his defender.
Replay showed Hill hit Sanders on the helmet as the receiver was down at the 1-yard line. Instead of enforcing the penalty on the kickoff, as was the original call with the touchdown, the 15-yard penalty brought it back to the 16.
Three plays later, the Broncos had to settle for a short McManus field goal. Instead of going up, 7-6, the Broncos remained down, 6-3.
"I'm having fun,'' Sanders said. "I didn't do anything crazy besides say, 'Hey, I got you on that play.' I pointed my finger at him and threw the flag, which is crazy because I've been in the league nine years and I've been pointing at guys.... Emotions are high. It's not like I walked up to him and head-butted him.
"But it cost my team. I looked at the scoreboard, we lost by three points. I feel like we could've easily punched that ball in and got four points. I guess this loss is on me.''
The rest of the half, as Keenum was doing a little too much dunking’ and dinking for the fans' liking, the home crowd shouted its frustrations. Naturally, Broncos fans chanted for backup QB Chad Kelly.
When Keenum was evaluated for a concussion late in the half, Kelly went in to take a kneel down for the final play. Keenum returned in the second half and mostly played well, although he threw a costly interception deep in Rams territory in the third quarter. Keenum finished 25 of 41 for 322 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
But he's also the $36 million hired gun for a team that feels like it's in a free fall. The Broncos, to a man, are glad they play again as quickly as Thursday night at Arizona where the Cardinals have a 1-5 overall record.
Hearty Broncos fans tailgate despite snow, freezing temps
What can Keenum as the team's quarterback say or do to help the team he leads pull out of his skid?
"There's been some things said over the past week and I'm sure there there'll be things said this week,'' Keenum said. "But talk is talk. We've got to show it.''
