Denver spectators jeered Nathaniel Hackett’s first home game because of sideline gaffes

Denver’s Nathaniel Hackett era is off to a rough start.

After a Week 1 loss on the road to the Seattle Seahawks, which was primarily attributable to Hackett’s poor clock management late in the game, the Broncos returned to Denver in Week 2 looking to right the ship against the lowly Houston Texans.

The Broncos were finally victorious, but only after their new head coach delivered another terrible, unprepared performance.

The Denver offense struggled for the majority of the game, scoring only six points during the first three quarters against a mediocre Texans defense.

In the third quarter, while down 9-6, the Broncos faced third-and-inches at the Texans’ 35-yard line. With Javonte Williams averaging five yards per carry on the day, he appeared to be the obvious choice to cover the required distance for the first down. Or, if Hackett was feeling very bold, he might give his superstar quarterback Russell Wilson, to whom the Broncos have just committed literally $250 million, the opportunity to make a play.

Hackett instead called for a fullback sweep to Andrew Beck, who took the ball from Wilson five yards behind the line of scrimmage and never made up the lost ground.

It was only Beck’s second carry in his NFL career.

Billy M (@BillyM 91) on Twitter

September 18, 2022

However, there was still hope for the Broncos at this moment. Hackett could either keep his offense on the field to attempt to gain the necessary yards for a first down, or he could send Brandon McManus out to attempt a field goal and tie the game.

Hackett chose the latter option in the end, but he took too long to decide, causing his kicking unit to incur a delay-of-game penalty.

Mr. Matthew CFB’s Twitter account is @MrMatthewCFB.

September 18, 2022

Hackett and the Broncos were forced to punt because they were five yards further from the first down marker and the uprights.

It is difficult to envision a more obvious circumstance in which a coach on the sidelines is directly responsible for his team losing points.

—Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell)

September 18, 2022

Hackett’s hesitancy caused the Broncos to waste two more timeouts in the fourth quarter.

By that time, the Denver fans had begun mocking the failure of the home team’s new coach to call a play on time by loudly counting down the play clock.

—Kyle Clark (@KyleClark)

September 18, 2022

Eventually, the Broncos scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to escape with a 16-9 victory, but it wasn’t pretty.

Hackett did not blame the home crowd for turning against him after the game.

“I would boo myself,” stated Hackett. I was becoming increasingly frustrated.

“We fall into the danger zone twice. Not scoring another touchdown is unbelievably annoying. I do not believe we have scored there as of yet. This is an area in which all of our men must improve. Whatever we do, whether we run the ball more or not, we must execute at a greater level.”

Hackett noted that he is not yet on the same page as Wilson when it comes to making crucial in-game decisions.

“I just need to ensure that I communicate to Russell [Wilson] exactly what we’re going to do in that position, so that we don’t have to rush out and kick a field goal late like we did last time, which was awful. This shouldn’t have happened, and it’s my fault, but I’ll clean it up.”

Wilson, for his part, did his best to laugh off the boo birds.

Wilson remarked of the crowd’s countdown, “I suppose it was useful if required.” “I suppose they do that occasionally in basketball; I’ve been around basketball players and similar individuals. Tonight’s turnout was very incredible.”

Next Sunday night, the San Francisco 49ers will travel to Denver for a primetime contest against the Broncos.

Hackett must hope that his third NFL appearance will be cleaner than his previous two, as the Denver crowd is unlikely to give him the benefit of the doubt for much longer in front of a national audience.