There’s only so much one defense can do.

On Sunday, the Broncos defense did just about everything in their power to give Denver a chance against the New England Patriots, but at some point, the offense needs to actually put some points on the board, especially when you manage to hold the league’s No. 4 offense to just 313 yards and 16 points.

There was some hope early in the game. Behind Justin Forsett, the run game actually looked to have a pulse for the first time since C.J. Anderson was placed on IR.

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It went downhill from there, though. Despite the productive start, the Broncos only finished with 58 yards on 17 attempts.

The same could be said for Trevor Siemian, who had the Broncos moving up and down the field early. After a quick punt on their first drive, Denver had two straight extended drives. The first ended in a field goal, knotting the game up at three.

The second, though, did not end so well.

Siemian completed five of six passes for 65 yards, including a couple into tight windows, to move the Broncos down inside the red zone. But on the first play of the second quarter, Siemian dropped back and unloaded a pass to Emmanuel Sanders that was promptly picked off by Logan Ryan and returned 46 yards into Denver territory.

The Patriots responded with a 1-yard LeGarrette Blount touchdown, which extended New England’s lead to 10-3.

From that point on, it was game, set and match.

Not only did the Broncos fail to score again, but they went three-and-out on five of their next six drives — the only other being an 11-play, 39-yard drive ending in a punt.

What’s worse is that the defense gave Siemian and Co. every opportunity to get back into the game. The Broncos only allowed the Patriots to score six-second half points and forced two three-and-outs of their own.

Whether it was Siemian or someone else, Denver’s offense simply couldn’t make a play, as A.J. Derby and Demaryius Thomas combined for three crippling third-down drops.

Who’s to blame? Siemian? Kubiak? Dennison? The line?

All of the above, probably. Whoever is at fault, Broncos Country has reached their breaking point.

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At 8-6, the Broncos are now on the outside of the playoffs looking in, with games against the Chiefs and Raiders remaining.

If they win out, there may still be hope, but that hope is dwindling fast.

With the way this offense has played over the last two weeks (13 points total), it’s hard to imagine them beating anybody with pulse.