3 Games in 1: Momentum Swings & Tzu

Disclaimer: We did well enough to win. That point is (of course) the only one that really matters at the end of the season.

However, I would be lax in my review of the game if I were to end it there. So, here are some of my thoughts on the game… or games?

I actually feel like we played three different games on Sunday.

1. The stellar 1st 36.5 minutes of the game (up to the missed field goal by Elam in the 3rd Quarter):
In this game we played great football on both sides of the ball. We had 276 yards of total offense and 17 points compared to the Raider’s 78 yards and 3 points. Cutler had over 150 yards passing versus McCown’s 17 yards. Selvin Young ripped off a 40 yard run that really impressed me, and Brandon Stokley would have scored the offensive MVP of the game with a couple critical 3-and-long grabs and a TD. On defense, Denver seemed to be stopping everything Oakland was throwing at them. D. J. Williams single-handedly limited Oakland’s redzone visit to a field goal with two incredible stops and both Champ Bailey and rookie Marcus Thomas recorded interceptions.

2. The dismal next 27.5 minutes of the game (4 minutes into OT):
From this point, the balance of power seems to have shifted and all the stats go the other way… Oakland turned in 17 points with 169 yards of total offense compared to less than 100 yard and 3 points from the Broncos. On offense, Cutler got sacked in the endzone for a safety and Thomas Howard ran a Cutler interception back 44 yards for another TD. On defense, we couldn’t seem to stop the Raiders as Jordan rushed for 113 yards and Bly got beat deep by Joey Porter for a 46 yard TD.

3. The Final 5:21 minutes of OT play:
After Janikowski’s failed second attempt at a 52 yard field goal, the Broncos awoke and marched down the field in an impressive 9 play, 54 yard drive that resulted in the game winning Elam FG. The Broncos looked dominate again and I have no doubt that they could have scored 7 if Shanahan would have decided to win with a TD.

Now, I can imagine that the missed OT field goal caused the final swing in momentum to go back in the Bronco’s favor- especially the way it played out as the refs didn’t get the play stopped before Janikowski’s first attempt was kicked. However, I highly doubt the missed field goal in the 3rd quarter (or the TD nullified by Brandon Marshall’s push-off) really justifies the first swing of momentum that gave Oakland a shot at beating us at home. I really can’t put my finger on any one play or event that drove the Raiders into a great half of play, so I must assume that they motivated themselves.

What really bothers me about these swings in momentum is this quote by Sun Tzu…

“The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.”
– Sun Tzu ART OF WAR

That could also read: ‘a successful leader does not wait for the opponent’s failures to inspire his team, he creates inspiration with his own actions.’

In this game, it took a failed attempt by our opponent to awaken that emotional shift in the game momentum. I would have rather seen one of our team leaders make a play that re-ignited our team. I would have liked to see Bly’s last minute interception light that fire with our players when we got first crack at moving the ball in overtime. But instead, we just couldn’t get it going until after the 52 yard FG miss by Oakland.

I think we got away with something in this game. I think we got away with relying on the opposing team to create our emotional spark. And if the Raider’s hadn’t given us that, I believe we would still be nursing a devastating home loss to a division rival that had no business beating us. If we want to be a championship level team, we need to be able to ‘impose our will’ on our opponents, or as Sun Tzu would say: “we will fall victim to defeat.”

-Jonathan Douglas
–BroncoTalk.net