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Big-man hustle play by Broncos' Garett Bolles goes laughably wrong (video)

Garett Bolles brings big energy. (AP Photo/David Becker)
Garett Bolles brings big energy. (AP Photo/David Becker) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Respect the hustle.

Also, try your best not to laugh.

Garett Bolles gave it his all on a play gone wrong for the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Unfortunately for the Broncos, it wasn't quite enough.

Running back Melvin Gordon fumbled on a first-down carry against the Las Vegas Raiders in the second quarter. Raiders cornerback Amik Robertson scooped up the loose ball, darted through a crowd at midfield then broke free down the right sideline toward the end zone. He had one Broncos pursuer in tow: Bolles — a 6-5, 300-pound offensive tackle.

Bolles did not give up on the play. He chased Robertson as far as he could before making a desperate diving effort near the 5-yard line to prevent the defensive touchdown. He did not succeed.

Here's another angle with the payoff landing 13 seconds in.

The effort here from Bolles is A-plus. His hangtime is resoundingly not.

Is it fair in this instance to criticize a 300-pound man whose job is to bully defensive ends in the trenches? Absolutely not. He's not paid to run and jump. But that doesn't mean that folks are going to laugh at it. And laugh at it they did.

Twitter can be cruel.