NFL Denver Broncos

Rahim Moore’s Mistake In 2013 AFC Championship Game Continues To Haunt Denver Broncos

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By @BZarp

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On January 12, 2013, the Denver Broncos were on their way to hosting the AFC Championship Game in Peyton Manning‘s first season with the team. All that was left for the Baltimore Ravens to do was have Joe Flacco throw a few long passes down the field and hope for the best.

That’s when the unthinkable happened: Denver safety Rahim Moore made an egregious error and badly misplayed a deep pass that fell into the hands of Jacoby Jones for a 70-yard touchdown, allowing the Ravens to tie the game with 31 seconds left, a game they would go on to win in double overtime.

At the time, it was a great disappointment for the Broncos, but at the same time there was a feeling that they would have other opportunities to win a Super Bowl. In hindsight, however, that season appears to have been Denver’s best chance at winning a Super Bowl, with Moore’s mishap being the most meaningful play that prevented the Broncos from accomplishing the feat.

The Broncos would bounce back from Moore’s mistake and reach the Super Bowl the following year, but with Manning going up against an historically great defense and the Denver defense being woefully mediocre, the Broncos had little chance of winning. The Broncos brought a quality defense and a much more balanced team into this year’s postseason, but with Manning’s physical abilities severely diminished, there was no way Denver would have been able to win a Super Bowl this year.

Now, with Manning’s future in question, the window for the Broncos to win a Super Bowl appears to be all but closed.

There’s no guarantee that the Broncos would have won the Super Bowl in 2013 had Moore not made that mistake, as they still would have had to beat the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. However, things were set up in their favor, as they would have been home against the Patriots and in a Manning-friendly dome setting against the 49ers.

In addition to a great passing attack, that year’s Broncos team got great play from running back Knowshon Moreno down the stretch, had a top-flight pass rush duo in Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil, and featured a game-changing kick returner in Trindon Holliday. They had all the pieces necessary to win a Super Bowl, and the Broncos appeared destined to do so before Moore’s mistake.

It may be unfair to blame Denver’s lack of a Super Bowl in the last three years on Moore, but looking back, it’s hard to deny that 2013 was the best chance the Broncos had to win a Super Bowl during the window that Manning opened. Moore’s flop on Flacco’s pass was a significant reason why Denver didn’t win a Super Bowl that year, and his mistake will forever remain a haunting memory for Broncos fans.

Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com.  Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google.

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