The Denver Broncos suffered their third consecutive loss Sunday afternoon, losing to the Green Bay Packers 27-16.
The Broncos offense failed to have a substantial impact in the game. Additionally, the defense was unable to generate a sack or turnover, again, which is the first time that has happened in franchise history through the first three games of a season.
Things are looking bleak for the 0-3 Broncos, whose chances of making the playoffs are now slim to none. It’s sad to think the Broncos chances to make the postseason are virtually zero, but historically, teams that start a season 0-3 usually end up on the outside looking in.
Regardless of the poor start, rookie head coach Vic Fangio is not worried about his team losing their composure. Fangio addressed the state of the locker room at Dove Valley Monday.
“You just fight through it,” Fangio said. “The easiest thing to do is to just make wholesale changes, whether it’d be personnel, scheme, this, that or the other thing. There’s the old saying, keep doing the same thing and expect different results, that’s not very smart. But it’s also saying too, change for just change’s sake isn’t very smart either. We’ve got to operate that fine line as a staff and realize what we’re doing. Are the mistakes we’re making correctable? And then make a good and intelligent decision.”
Following Denver’s latest loss, Broncos fans everywhere were disgruntled with their team’s performance. Twitter was a firestorm, and local media outlets ridiculed Denver and rightfully so, considering their lackluster performance.
Veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said the team was living in a “world of suck” following Sunday’s loss to Green Bay. Despite the apparent turmoil brewing within the Broncos locker room, Fangio is not worried about outside noise affecting his team.
“You just have a strong upper lip, look at the positives, realize what the negatives are, do your best to correct those negatives and know who you are as a person, as a team and as a player and as a coach,” Fangio said. “We’ve all had some success at different degrees throughout our careers, even the players, especially the young ones, and us as coaches. We’ve got to just stick to it and get through the hard times.”
Furthermore, Fangio believes in the Broncos culture and veteran presence to prevent tensions from boiling over. With the team now shifting their sights toward the Jacksonville Jaguars, Fangio is not focusing on the negatives and is instead looking to notch his first win as a head coach.
“I think that’s the landscape of the NFL,” Fangio said of worrying about tension in the locker room. “You guys help perpetuate that, too. For us to just have our heads in the sand and know that may not happen would be bad on our part, so we have to talk about it. I think we have the right kind of guys in here and I think after we talk about it, everybody will move forward with the right frame of mind.”
The Broncos are one of five AFC teams that have yet to win a game this season. While organizations like the Jets and Dolphins have some excuses, the Broncos struggles are perplexing considering they have a core of players that include Von Miller, Chris Harris and Bradley Chubb. Due to the talent level the Broncos have, Fangio is still a firm believer in his team.
“We’ve got the players here to win,” Fangio said. “I believe in these players, I enjoy being around them every day. They’re a bunch of good guys. They’re trying their butts off. We just have to play a little bit better. Along with that, we have to coach better. If we’re breaking down fundamentally in certain areas at critical times, that is an indictment on us as coaches too, not just the players.”
Possessing talent is one thing, turning that talent into success is a whole other craft Fangio has yet to master. Although the season has been rough out of the gate for the new coaching staff, his confidence in his team’s ability to turn things around has not changed.
“Yeah, and when you say turn around, I’m just looking to get to this game,” Fangio said. “I’m not looking at the entire season. We’ve just got to figure out a way to go out and play our best and cleanest game this week. And yes, I do think we can.”
