The Denver Broncos suffered a crushing loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, losing 13-10 in a game that could have a big impact on their postseason hopes.
The loss drops Denver to an 8-5 record, and while they still currently maintain their No. 6 playoff seed in the AFC, that could all go away very soon.
The Broncos now get to take on three of the top teams in the NFL in the final three weeks of their season.
Next week, the New England Patriots will come to Denver. On Christmas evening, the Broncos will go visit the Kansas City Chiefs. Then, they will close out the season with a home game against the Oakland Raiders.
That schedule, combined with some of the flaws that the Broncos are consistently displaying, makes it hard to imagine this team finding their way into the postseason.
On Sunday, the Broncos blemishes were prominently on display, and there is no shortage of blame to go around for the entire team. Just as winning takes a team effort, so does losing, and Denver had a number of contributors in this loss.
Here are all the people deserving of some blame for the Broncos’ defeat on Sunday:
Blame the offensive line
Once again, this unit is proving to be the weak link on this team. The Broncos are unable to not only to run the football, but to even mix in a token run play without losing significant yardage. Trevor Siemian was hit 10 times on Monday and was sacked three more. It’s too bad, because when he was given time, he was doing some very good things.
Blame the running backs
Not only did they manage just 18 yards rushing, but Justin Forsett had a key fumble on his very first carry in a Broncos uniform. Devontae Booker picked up just 1 yard on three carries and was pulled in favor of Forsett, who was just signed to the team last Monday.
Blame the run defense
While it managed to stiffen in the second half, the center of the Broncos run defense was certainly generous in the first two quarters. The Titans racked up 138 rushing yards in the first half alone, and they held on to the football for over 20 of the first 30 minutes. The Broncos run defense has been suspect all season, and they allowed 4.3 yards per rush on Sunday.
Blame the turnovers
While the Broncos somehow managed to overcome their turnovers last season, this team just doesn’t have that same margin for error. The Broncos are 2-5 when they commit more turnovers than their opponents this year, and the Forsett fumble combined with the final fumble by A.J. Derby, proved to be too much to overcome. Denver has just 16 turnovers this season, compared to 31 a year ago, but they have been costly.
Blame the slow starts
Once again, the Broncos seemed to start the game with their feet in mud, and trailed 13-0 before they woke up and began to compete. Denver’s offense is currently ranked dead last in first quarter points with just 23 total points. Is it the coaching staff’s failure to have them prepared? Is it the players fault for not getting themselves ready to start games stronger? Let’s just blame them both.
Blame the penalties
Once again, the Broncos committed far too many penalties, compiling nine infractions for 85 yards. On the season, this team is ranked seventh in total penalties with 108 for over 900 yards. Some penalties are to be expected by an aggressive defensive unit. Some are unforced mental mistakes. The Broncos have seen plenty of both this year.
Blame the coaching staff
It isn’t just the players. The Broncos coaching staff may have made some excellent halftime adjustments yesterday, but that doesn’t excuse this team not being ready to play from the beginning, with so much at stake. The defense struggled to get off the field early, the offense floundered until the fourth quarter and the Broncos failed to beat a .500 team with the playoffs coming very quickly.
Blame John Elway
Elway signed offensive tackles Donald Stephenson and Russell Okung to free agent contracts. They have been a disaster. The offensive line ranks among the league’s worst. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson and linebacker Danny Trevathan left via free agency, and those losses have left this defense undermanned, and much softer up the middle.
There is plenty of blame to go around, if we look hard enough.
The Broncos now have three weeks to try to right some of these wrongs.
But if some of these errors don’t get corrected quickly, this team will have a long offseason to try to figure out where it all got away from them.