The Denver Broncos started the 2016 NFL season with hopes of defending their Super Bowl title.
They returned a substantial number of players from a squad that found a way to grind out a championship just one season ago, but as many teams have found before them, it is extremely difficult to maintain that same top-flight level.
The Broncos bowed out of the playoff race on Sunday night, with an embarrassing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs 33-10. The Chiefs racked up nearly 500 total yards, almost 40 minutes of possession and the Broncos now have to face a long offseason in which there will be a number of difficult decisions to make.
This obviously isn’t the first time that a Super Bowl Champion has failed to reach the playoffs.
The Broncos will become the 16th team to miss the postseason after winning the NFL’s biggest game.
It isn’t even the first time in history that the Broncos have done it.
You will remember that following their victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXII, Denver went 6-10 in an injury-filled, post-Elway season.
The Super Bowl hangover is very real, and the Broncos no doubt suffered from it this year.
After starting the season 4-0, Denver succumbed to the perils that have haunted so many Super Bowl winners in past years.
Other franchises want to try to grab the secret of winning, and so the roster is poached through free agency. And players that were a part of the championship season know that it is their chance to cash in on the team success.
The Broncos lost defensive tackle Malik Jackson and linebacker Danny Trevathan from their top-notch defense, and those losses proved to be extremely painful. While the defense is still very good, there is no question that they’ve been softer. The Broncos are allowing over 135 rushing yards per game, ranking them 29th in the league.
And Denver had some big losses on the offensive side of the ball, too.
Quarterback Peyton Manning retired, backup Brock Osweiler left, running back Ronnie Hillman was cut, C.J. Anderson was lost to an injury and the offensive line was completely re-hauled.
Ryan Harris, Evan Mathis and Louis Vasquez all departed, and Donald Stephenson and Russell Okung arrived to fill the void. But as bad as the offense was at times last season, this group managed to drain a little more out of the pool.
The Broncos offense ranked 20th in passing yards per game, 28th in rushing yards per game and 22nd in scoring per game.
Broncos quarterbacks have been sacked 40 times this year, breaking the mark of 39 from last year, and we still have one game to go.
Maybe the losses in free agency and retirement were just too much to get past. Maybe this group is just lacking in talent, or have taken too long to come together. Or maybe the coaching staff is struggling to reach them.
Whatever it is that has plagued this team, John Elway is looking to correct it immediately.
The center of the defense has to be fortified, either through the draft or free agency. And the Broncos will have some very serious decisions to make on offense.
Are the Broncos set at quarterback? Could they look at a veteran free agent in the offseason? It’s no secret that Gary Kubiak was very fond of Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor when he coached him in Baltimore.
What will the Broncos do with Okung, whose contract is set to increase significantly?
Super Bowl hangover proved to be too much for the Denver Broncos to overcome this season.
Now, they have to figure out how to get back to that championship level.
