There are 26 teams in the NFL that would love to be 10-4 and in playoff positioning, but right now, the Denver Broncos wish they had a whole lot more.
And maybe it is that Broncos Country has simply been spoiled over the last few seasons, but there is reason to be worried. Three straight games without a second-half score isn’t a fluke; it’s a trend. And for a team that is in win-now mode — anything other than a Super Bowl is an absolute failure — that’s troubling.
As I wrote two weeks ago, before the Raiders game, the Broncos have a serious problem, and it reared its head these last two weeks; no matter how good this defense is, the Broncos are not going to contend for a championship if they can’t put points on the board. And if the Broncos finish the Peyton Manning era without a single championship, it’ll be one of the biggest wastes of an opportunity in franchise history.
But for now, let’s just stick to the one game. Here are five takeaways from the Denver Broncos loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers:
The bright side
Before we get into all the negatives, let’s look on the bright side for a second. The offense did look pretty darn good during the first half, and I think it would be unfair to completely disregard that performance. And in reality, they looked pretty darn good during the first half of the Raiders game, too.
If Kubiak and the Broncos can figure out how to replicate those four quarters, and not the following four quarters, then maybe this offense can get somewhere.
To go on four scoring drives in a half is impressive, and Denver has done it in two games straight; that’s something to build on. The important part, though, is actually building on it.
Gary Kubiak is a problem
We can blame Chris Harris or Vernon Davis or Demaryius Thomas, but when it comes down to it, what the Broncos have done (or haven’t done) over their last three second halves is much bigger than any one player; that falls on the coach.
In three straight games, but especially in the last two, Denver’s opponents have come out of halftime and dominated the Broncos, outscoring the team 36-0. For a guy that’s supposed to be an “offensive mastermind,” that’s inexcusable.
If the Broncos are going to right themselves, Gary Kubiak needs to do the same.
For one, Denver needs to get the run game involved; 18 carries between Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson just isn’t going to cut it. And if the issue is that the Broncos just can’t effectively run the ball, no matter what they do, then it’s about time we blow up the narrative that it was Peyton Manning’s fault that the offense couldn’t run the ball; they have not been better with Brock Osweiler at the helm.
And the play calling in the fourth quarter was questionable at best, especially on the Broncos last two drives. That fourth down call to get C.J. Anderson the ball out in the flat made absolutely no sense, and to not gain a single yard after Brandon Marshall intercepted the ball in Steelers’ territory with two minutes left was just embarrassing.
Part of the blame has to fall on the players themselves, but when you have seven former Pro Bowlers on your offense, a coach should be able to get more out of them than zero points in six second-half quarters.
Part of the reason for moving on to Brock Osweiler was that he would allow the Broncos to run the vaunted Gary Kubiak offense. Well, I’m still waiting to see it.
The defense let the team down
It’s hard for me to blame much on the Broncos defense after what they’ve done for the team this year, but this one falls on them, more so than in any of the other three losses.
When an offense gives the best defense in the NFL 27 points in the first half and a 14-point lead going into halftime, you have to close it down — no excuses. And unlike last week, where the Raiders’ 15 second-half points were largely a product of offensive miscues, this one was all on the defense; Brock Osweiler or Vernon Davis had nothing to do with Ben Roethlisberger‘s 380 yards and three touchdowns.
What’s even more disappointing, though, is how the defense couldn’t back up their words when they were given the perfect opportunity. All year, we’ve been hearing about the “No Fly Zone,” and yet it looked like clear skies to me on Sunday. And just last week, the Broncos defense made it very clear that they felt the offense wasn’t holding up their end of the bargain, but the very next week, after the offense gave the defense more than enough points, they fell flat.
Honestly, the fact that the offense didn’t score a point in the second half shouldn’t have mattered; if this defense is as good as they’ve been hyped up to be, 27 points should have been more than enough for a victory.
No more kicking and screaming
This is not what John Elway was talking about when he said the Broncos needed to go out “kicking and screaming.”
I don’t care how chippy the game was or how upset the players were after the loss; when you let the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers nonchalantly overcome double-digit deficits in consecutive weeks, you’re not going out “kicking and screaming.”
And for me, that was abundantly clear during two moments in the fourth quarter: (1) When Vernon Davis decided not to put his body at risk to catch an easy third-down pass, and (2) when the offense failed to gain a single yard following Brandon Marshall’s interception with two minutes remaining in the game. In both instances, the Broncos proved they didn’t have what it takes to go out “kicking and screaming” — and yes, I’m going to keep using that phrase until they prove they know what it means.
The only solace we should have is that we have seen it before. We did see the Broncos fight to the last breadth earlier in the season and against the New England Patriots a few weeks ago. This team did look to have something that they haven’t had in previous years. But they need to get it back — quickly — because if they go into the playoffs playing like this, they might as well start planning their February getaways right now.
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[adrotate banner=”10″]The AFC West is now in question
Two months ago, the 6-0 Denver Broncos had a five-game lead over the 1-5 Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West crown. Today, that lead is down to just one, and there is a very real possibility that the Broncos end up losing the division.
The Chiefs, who have turned around their season with an eight-game win streak, close out the year against the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders, both of which are at home. Barring a drastic drop off in play, that should be two wins, bringing their total to 11-5.
If that happens, then the Broncos will have to go undefeated these last two weeks if they want to win the AFC West; with two division losses, against Kansas City’s one, Denver would lose the tie breaker to the Chiefs.
It gets worse, though. Not only are the Broncos in danger of losing the AFC West, but they’re in danger of missing the playoffs altogether. Both the Jets and Steelers are 9-5, too, and if they both run the table, the Broncos could end up on the outside looking in come January. And honestly, it wouldn’t take anything crazy for that to happen; one loss to the Bengals next week, and the Broncos future could suddenly be out of their hands.