Denver Broncos right guard Quinn Meinerz was on the losing end of a mystifying penalty on the goal line last week that wiped a touchdown off the board. Trailing the Detroit Lions 28-7 on a pivotal 4th-&-1 in the third quarter, the hand-off went to fullback Michael Burton, who crossed the goal line.
Then the yellow laundry fell.
Offsides on Meneirz. The initial replay angle seemed to show that Meinerz wasn’t offsides. A different angle later revealed that he was dangerously close to the neutral zone, but it still didn’t look like offsides.
That penalty changed the momentum of the game, as head coach Sean Payton opted to kick a field goal on 4th-&-Goal from the 6-yard line, and the Broncos ultimately lost 42-17. The botched call also punctuated a very frustrating goal-to-go series for the Broncos, precipitating Payton’s controversial dog-cussing of Russell Wilson on the sideline immediately thereafter.
On Thursday, the recently-turned 25-year-old Meinerz held court at his locker with some local press, including Denver Sports’ Andrew Mason, who captured the talented young guard’s first public comments on the controversial penalty. Meinerz also revealed that the refs missed a facemask that should have been a penalty on Detroit.
“All I know, and what I’ll say, is that I know it was close,” Meinerz said of the penalty. “And that’s part of the point of that play, and those kinds of plays, is to get as close as you can, and it’s the way I’ve lined up my entire career. So it was unfortunate that it happened like that because we scored on that play, obviously. And there was another missed penalty with Burt [Burton] getting a facemask.”
Indeed, it was unfortunate. If the officials hadn’t missed the Burton facemask, Meinerz’s offsides would have been offset, and the Broncos would have gotten another bite at the goal-line apple on 4th-&-1.
Alas, the Broncos had already dug themselves a hole they would have been hard-pressed to climb out of at Ford Field, but a 28-14 game takes on an entirely different complexion than an 18-point margin entering the fourth quarter. The Broncos really needed that game, and that play was the turning point of the second half.
And lest we forget, Payton’s squad overcame a 21-point second-half deficit in Week 4 to defeat another NFC North foe on the road in the Chicago Bears, 31-28. In the NFL, all bets are off, especially when it comes to the art of surfing the rising waves of momentum.
That offsides penalty shouldn’t detract from the phenomenal season Meinerz has turned in for the Broncos. In Year 3, the former third-rounder out of Wisconsin-Whitewater has played at an All-Pro level.
Meinerz has started every game and is currently the second-highest-graded guard in the NFL via Pro Football Focus. Credit goes to him, of course, but also to Denver’s new offensive line coach Zach Strief for helping the young guard to begin realizing his considerable potential.
— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) December 17, 2023
Meinerz hasn’t been the only beneficiary of Strief’s coaching. The oft-maligned Lloyd Cushenberry III is also having a career year, currently ranked as the NFL’s ninth-highest-graded center via PFF, while left tackle Garett Bolles has returned to form.
We’ll never know what could have happened if that fateful penalty wasn’t called on Meinerz. All he and the Broncos can do now is give this week’s opponent — the New England Patriots — their full attention.
Quinn Meinerz, with some final thoughts on the controversial offsides infraction last week in Detroit: “All I know — and what I’ll say — is that I know it was close,. And that’s part of the point of that play, and those kinds of plays, is to get as close as you can. …” pic.twitter.com/pjQNJJ9npf
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) December 21, 2023
If Meinerz and the Broncos need to express any lingering frustration, they can take it out on a Bill Belichick squad that Payton said is hoping to “loot” the Broncos on Christmas Eve.
Onto New England, so to speak. Denver is hosting the Patriots on Sunday Night Football, so as Broncos Country celebrates Christmas Eve, perhaps Meinerz can help his team deliver the ideal gift: an eighth win of the 2023 season and the rekindling of playoff hope.
