ST. LOUIS -- Observed and heard in the locker room after the Denver Broncos' 22-7 loss to the St. Louis Rams in the Edward Jones Dome:
Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who left Sunday’s game in the third quarter because of a concussion, said he felt “OK" as he left the locker room. But Sanders is now under the league’s guidelines in the concussion protocol, so he will be evaluated by the Broncos' medical staff and an independent physician before he can return to practice or play in a game. Sanders finished with 102 yards on his five receptions and scored the team’s only touchdown on a 42-yard catch with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left in the second quarter. Quarterback Peyton Manning said: "I feel a part of that. I probably could have held the safety a little longer, keep him from getting a jump on that. Every pass you throw you feel responsible for. ... I hope he's OK. ... Any time a player gets injured on the end of one of your passes, my heart drops. ... He said was OK. I take that very seriously. I always have."
Running back Montee Ball, who was in uniform for the first time since he suffered a groin injury Oct. 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, looked like he might miss some additional time. He played just a handful of snaps, including two on the Broncos’ opening drive, before he limped off the field after being unable to reel in a high pass from Manning on a third-and-6 play on the Broncos’ second possession. Ball remained on the sideline, in uniform, for the remainder of the game. Asked if he felt like he did when he originally suffered the injury, Ball said, “It’s hard to tell, really. I’ll have to see when we get back and I get it checked out. We’ll have to see what the trainers, the doctors say."
Broncos coach John Fox said he would have let kicker Brandon McManus try a 50-yard field goal or closer in the game. Inside the Edward Jones Dome, the Broncos passed up a chance at what would have been a 54-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter. The Broncos went for it on fourth down instead. In the third quarter, the Broncos sent the punt team out instead of kicking a 55-yard attempt. “We never got to that range," Fox said of the 50-yard limit on the day. “... I don’t know that was really the difference." When the Broncos kept McManus and released Matt Prater last month, team officials, including Fox, said it was, in part, because of McManus' leg strength on kickoffs and ability to make longer field goal attempts. Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein made five field goals in the game, including from 55 and 53 yards in the fourth quarter.
The Broncos’ seven points was their lowest total since Manning signed with the team before the 2012 season. It ended the team’s regular-season streak of at least 20 points in a game that dated back to a 17-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 25, 2012. It also ended Manning’s 15-game streak of at least two touchdown passes in a game. The Broncos made no trips inside the Rams’ 20-yard line. They did not run a play inside the Rams’ 28-yard line in the game. “I felt like we had some good red zone plays, but I’m not sure we got to call any red zone plays," Manning said.
