ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A day after Teddy Bridgewater failed to tackle Eagles cornerback Darius Slay en route to a game-changing fumble return touchdown, the Broncos' quarterback deemed his effort "unacceptable."
"Initially, I thought Melvin [Gordon III] was down already, [and that] they were just going to blow the whistle eventually and say, 'Hey, he was down.' And then there wasn't a whistle, so it kind of caught me by surprise. At the same time, I'm right there, [and have an] opportunity to just dive, sacrifice, do whatever I can to help the team in that moment. I felt — and I owned up to it — it's unacceptable as a football player, as a member of this team. We play this game and you lay it all on the line every week, and that's one of those moments where I've just got to accept the fact that I didn't give everything I had in me on that play.
"I understand, man, there's going to be some backlash that comes with it. I'm a grown man. I'm a professional athlete. I understand that's what comes with it — backlash and things like that. It doesn't define who we are as a football team, it doesn't define me as a man and as a football player."
Bridgewater said Head Coach Vic Fangio showed a clip of the play to the team on Monday, and he noted that Fangio told Bridgewater his effort needed to be better. Speaking to the press before Bridgewater, Fangio said the entire unit could have pursued Slay better following Gordon's fumble on fourth-and-1.
"I'd like to see us all pursue it a little bit better offensively and find a way to get that guy down," Fangio said. "At the top of [the return], where Teddy got involved, I think he thought he was forcing it back into somebody else that had an angle on him, but I'd like to see Teddy … at least make a play at the guy."
Bridgewater said he agreed completely with Fangio's assessment of the play.
"That's not the type of tape that I want to put out there," Bridgewater said. "It's one of those situations where you get pissed after you watch it because it's like, you know how much this game means to you, you know guys are out there trying to make a play. It's like you feel like you got a little help running toward the sideline, you try to force the cutback. … In real time it feels like, 'Hey everything's happening fast. I should force a cutback.' But when you slow it down, it's like, 'Man, just give more effort.' You watch it and you walk away from it pissed at yourself at the effort. Credit Slay, he made a great play also, but it's one of those deals where we've got guys diving, trying to make the tackle. I just needed to lay it all out for the guys in that room."
When Fangio brought the play up, Bridgewater said he didn't "sink in his chair" to avoid criticism.
"I take full ownership in what happened," Bridgewater said. "I said, 'Coach called me out, I hold myself accountable.' We all have a standard that we live by around here, and I'm happy Coach called me out to show, 'Hey man, we need more out of you right here.'"
While Bridgewater has reviewed losses, fumbles and interceptions in the past, he said this was one of the toughest plays he's ever had to watch on film.
"Yeah, it definitely was," Bridgewater said. "Especially when you slow it down. In real time, everything's happening fast. You've got the sideline to your advantage to force the cutback, and then when you slow it down with the clicker and the remote in your hand, it's like, 'Man, this is bad.' Hopefully, man, I never have to be put in that situation again. If I am, I'm going to make sure I lay it all on the line. I won't be the talk of social media or the internet or whatever. Hopefully we can just but this behind [us] and move forward."
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November 16, 2021 at 06:12AM
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Next-Day Notebook: Teddy Bridgewater takes 'full ownership' for 'unacceptable' effort on Eagles' defensive touchdown - DenverBroncos.com
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