Somewhere between Peyton Manning retiring and Vance Joseph getting hired, the Denver Broncos forgot how to win football games. I say that with no undergirding tone of smart-assery.

You can point to coaching, scheme, execution or whatever you like (take your pick), but the bottom line is the Broncos have to relearn how to win. Nowhere is that more evident than the self-inflicted wounds that have cost this team consistently this season, and it was on full display once again in Week 9 as Denver fell at home to the Houston Texans 19-17.

We’ve seen the Broncos fumble in crucial moments. We’ve seen Case Keenum throw mind-numbing interceptions, while ill-advised penalties in key moments have derailed many a-drive.

But with the Texans in town, Vance Joseph found a new way to shoot himself in the foot. Make no mistake. The Broncos fought hard against the Texans, just like I knew they would.

A mystifying decision by Vance Joseph at the end of the second quarter, however, spelled the difference between the Broncos winning and losing this game. After Keenum and the offense stalled out on the Texans 44-yard line, Joseph made the decision to go for the 62-yard field goal with :22 seconds left in the half.

In the thin air of Mile High, a kicker like Brandon McManus can boot the ball 62 yards no problem. I’ve seen him nail ‘em from that distance during warm-ups.

But in the clutch moments of the first half, Joseph made a reactionary decision while trailing by three points. Joseph rushed McManus onto the field to attempt a low-percentage field goal, knowing that if he missed, the Texans would be one or two plays away from putting another three points on the board before half-time.

Seems like a pretty big decision, right? Maybe the type of call in which you need a little time to hammer out the details, prepare the kicker, and gauge the full ramifications of the situation.

A timeout would have maximized McManus’ potential to connect from 62 yards out, but instead, Joseph rushed the field goal unit out onto the field and no surprise — the kick sailed wide right. Texans head coach Bill O'Brien didn’t even bother calling a timeout himself to ice the kicker, because Joseph’s decision was so out of left field and low-percentage.

Now, had there only been one or two seconds left to go, and the field goal attempt would have ended the half, the decision to attempt one from 62 yards would at least be understandable.

But there were :18 seconds left to go still when McManus missed. Two plays and two timeouts later, DeShaun Watson had the Texans on Denver’s 28-yard line to attempt the 46-yard field goal. It was good.

Joseph’s highly-questionable decision-making, situational awareness and clock management in this critical moment gifted the Texans three points. Houston would go on to win the game by two points.

McManus, who had only missed one field goal attempt all season leading up to this game, was off on Sunday. With the crosswinds a-blowin’, McManus would get the opportunity to make up for the missed 62-yarder, and perhaps erase Joseph’s incompetent decision at the end of the second quarter.

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After converting two fourth down attempts, Case Keenum put the Broncos in field goal range with :03 seconds to go on Houston’s 33-yard line. Down by two, McManus would give the Broncos the victory if he could connect from 51 yards out.

No dice. Wide right. Time expires. Game over.

What makes this loss particularly painful for fans is the fact that the team played well. Case Keenum — for the first time this year — did not turn the ball over, although Denver did lose the turnover battle due to Devontae Booker losing a fumble, which led to seven of Houston’s 19 points. Another dagger to the foot.

Even still, had Joseph not made that fateful decision to attempt a 62-yard field goal, we’d be talking about a hard-fought Broncos victory instead of just another loss.

Self-inflicted wounds cost the Broncos another game. McManus played a role in it, most definitely, as did Booker. But Vance Joseph has no one to blame but himself for the 17th loss (out of 25 games) of his head-coaching career. Denver now sits at 3-6 heading into their bye, losers of six of their last seven games.