Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton followed through on his postgame comments from Week 10.
He made a change for Week 11 against the Atlanta Falcons after a week’s worth of evaluation. The Broncos’ blocked field goal attempt against the Kansas City Chiefs underscored a long-standing issue with offensive lineman Alex Forsyth.
Payton moved Forsyth, Denver’s backup center, from the left tight end position where he faced overload rushes on field goal units to the wing spot where he gets 1-on-1s in Week 11.
Forsyth took the change in stride.
“Just changing up the technique,’’ Forsyth said, per 9News’ Mike Klis on November 17. “We were trying to move on, learn our lesson and we just changed up the technique that we were using and it really benefitted us this week.”
Teammates like left tackle Garett Bolles and Bo Nix came out in Forsyth’s defense after the loss against the Chiefs.
“It’s very unfortunate, very unfair that ultimately a play comes down to one moment and delight or something people can say that it falls under one person. And nobody prepares like Alex Forsyth prepares. Nobody goes through the moments throughout the week and gets every set and every look that he possibly can, and go out there and put his team in the best possible spot,” Nix told reporters on November 13.
“I think it’s unfair that, unfortunately, it’s the game we play, and all of our mistakes are on national TV and everyone sees them. And there’s a lot of you know negative talk when somebody messes up. But I think it’s um you know I think it should be known how valuable he is to our team, how much he is respected throughout our locker room. It really – it ticks me off that people can say those things about him and not even see how he works, or how he responds, or how he plays.”
Alex Forsyth Reacts to Teammates’ Support
GettyAlex Forsyth #54 of the Denver Broncos in action against the New Orleans Saints.
Nix and Forsyth were teammates at Oregon in 2022. Forsyth was a seventh-round pick in 2023. He was also a resource for the Broncos during their pre-draft scouting of Nix.
“I have no doubt that Alex Forsyth is going to respond, probably, better than anybody in that situation. He cares more than anybody would in that situation. And I know every single one of our team, every single guy in our locker room believes in him to move on and respond,” Nix said.
“What happened to him sucks. It really does. It’s happened to many of us and there’s – you just got to, unfortunately, get over it and you got to find ways to move past it. And he’s mentally tough. He’s been through tougher life moments than probably any of us, and so he knows how to handle adversity, and I’m excited to see him grow and respond through this. And I can’t imagine as much as he works throughout a week, how much more he’s going to put on himself.
“I respect him greatly. I hate that he’s having to go through all this. But sometimes it’s part of the game and it is what we signed up for. But I’m happy to be on his team. I’m proud to call him a teammate, and I know he’s going to respond really well.”
Forsyth said he felt “awful” but appreciated all of the support he received from his teammates.
“I felt really bad. I felt like I let my team down. Words can’t really describe how crappy I felt, like I let everybody down. Obviously, I don’t want to feel like that again,” per Klis. “It’s great to have these teammates.’’
“They supported me and we corrected the things we needed to correct.”
Former OL Defend Alex Forsyth, Question Broncos’ Approach
GettyHead coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos looks on before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Forsyth received support from a pair of former Broncos, offensive linemen Jared Veldheer and Tyler Polumbus.
“What was the issue here?” Veldheer posted on X on November 14. “I think the biggest issues were no TE support (my man is trying to block 3 dudes) and an extremely low kick from [Wil] Lutz.”
Broncos special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica said Lutz preferred the ball where it was.
Polumbus pointed out similar instances from the Falcons.
“You guys will never believe this incredible opportunity I found for the Broncos to rush the TE’s on Falcons field goal,” Polumbus posted on November 15. Blocked kick, getting their a**** kicked. (I’ve never seen TE’s get beat in field goal [eyeroll emojis]).”
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