Welker makes the “poison” call to alert teammates to clear out of the punt’s path,

Welker makes the “poison” call to alert teammates to clear out of the punt’s path, but it’s made too late for Tony Carter to hear. If you watch the replay, you can see Carter flinch a moment before the ball hits him, presumably because of Welker’s call. If Welker made up his mind earlier, Carter and the other Broncos likely would have had time to get out of the way. Given the lateness of Welker’s decision, “Carter never had a chance,” as Cris Collinsworth said on NBC.

There were plenty of non-Welker factors that led to the Broncos demise, including a woeful first 50 minutes for Peyton Manning and defensive breakdowns that began with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was injured before halftime. But the fluky late-game fumble is what sealed the deal. Consider it an unintentional assist from an old friend.