DENVER —
Every single one of his teammates had left the stadium Saturday night, yet Von Miller remained behind, seemingly paralyzed by the finality of the Denver Broncos' 38-35 double overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Miller had shed his shoulder pads and jersey but sat slumped in a chair in front of his locker in his white uniform pants. He stood only to speak with a throng of reporters, using words likes "devastating" as he tried to figure out what had gone wrong.
"To walk away from it on that note, I can't even put it into words," Miller said. "This loss is different from the rest of them."
When the interview ended, Miller crumpled back into the chair and covered his face with his hands.
ONE AND DONE: Ravens dispatch Broncos
Miller was already trying to find ways to blame himself. He could have gotten to Joe Flacco more, he said, and, somehow, found a way to prevent Flacco from even having the chance to heave a 70-yard pass to Jacoby Jones in the final minute of regulation.
"If I get my hand on his arm, who knows where the ball would have went," Miller said. "I put that on (me)."
The Baltimore receiver beat two of Miller's teammates downfield, and Denver safety Rahim Moore misjudged his angle and mistimed his play on the ball, allowing Jones to catch it and trot into the end zone for a game-tying touchdown.
Moore, a second-round pick in 2010, was the first Bronco to speak with reporters when the game was over. On the verge of tears, he took the blame for the end of Denver's season.
"It's my fault," Moore said. "If they wouldn't have scored on us on the last play, we'd be in here rejoicing. So if people don't like me after that, I'm sorry. That is my fault, and I'm going to take full responsibility for it."
Told of Moore's words a few minutes later, Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey shook his head.
"He can't take all the blame," Bailey said. "We all made mistakes in that game, and we all wish we could have some plays back."
Bailey had a pair of them. The Broncos star cornerback, who was selected this year to his 12th Pro Bowl, gave up two long touchdowns to Baltimore receiver Torrey Smith. The first went for 59 yards and left Bailey trailing Smith helplessly to the end zone.
"I lost him. He got away from me. He's fast, and if you lose him at the line, he's going to get away from you," Bailey said.
Bailey is the Broncos' longest-tenured player, having arrived in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Redskins in March 2004, a month before the team drafted linebacker D.J. Williams. Bailey has been part of two Denver teams that have gone 13-3 but failed to advance to the Super Bowl. He's also been part of two coaching changes and a 4-12 season in 2010.
"It gets tougher the older you get, because you never know when that door is going to close. I just have got to keep grinding. That's the way I'm built," Bailey said. "It's a tough loss, but we'll bounce back some way or another."
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