The Broncos were missing the three quarterbacks on the roster (Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Jeff Driskel) as well as Blake Bortles from the practice squad because of COVID-19 issues Sunday. That led to an NFL game being under conditions that most closely resembled a baseball game with a position player on the mound. The passing game — or lack thereof — naturally became the story of the day in a 31-3 loss to the Saints. Here’s a look at four key pass plays for the Broncos.

The first pass

The Broncos called the first pass play at the 12:21 mark in the first quarter. Kendall Hinton, a practice squad receiver thrust into quarterback action, rolled to his right and threw the ball away out of bounds. Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan tossed Hinton to the ground just after the ball was released. The play showed a few things. 1. The Broncos were going to try to throw it at least a little bit. 2. They were going to be hopelessly inept at doing so, as evidenced by the way the play immediately broke down and became a mad rush to simply release it cleanly out of bounds rather than looking for a receiver breaking his route.

The first interception

The Broncos were lucky that the second pass attempt – a third-and-12 incompletion – wasn’t intercepted by Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, as it hit Lattimore in the chest but fell to the ground. That luck ran out late in the second quarter when Hinton thew 28 yards downfield on a deep attempt for DaeSean Hamilton that was intercepted by Janoris Jenkins and returned 14 yards to the Denver 41-yard line. The pass down the right sideline was thrown short and Jenkins undercut the route for the pick. At that point Hinton was 0 for 7 with an interception. The turnover led to a Saints field goal as time expired in the half.

The first (and only) completion

The Broncos’ lone positive play in the passing game came with 11:34 remaining in the third quarter on a pseudo screen pass to tight end Noah Fant. Hinton rolled to his right, then threw back across his body to Fant, who made the catch near the line of scrimmage and raced ahead for 13 yards. It was the second first down on the opening drive of the half for the Broncos after they had picked up just one first down in the first half.

The second interception

Facing pressure from Marcus Davenport, Hinton rolled to his right and attempted to lob a pass to tight end Troy Fumagalli. The pass sailed over the target and was intercepted by safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The return went for just 3 yards, giving the Saints the ball at the 50-yard line. The Broncos did not throw another pass in the game, though Hinton was later sacked for a 1-yard loss.