The Denver Broncos were dominated by the New England Patriots on Sunday in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.
The Patriots won 16-3 and put another big hole in the Broncos’ playoff chances, as Denver dropped to 8-6 on the season.
Tom Brady has struggled in his career when visiting Denver, and it looked early like he might be in for another tough outing. Brady started the game 0 for 6 before finally finding his touch and putting the Broncos on the brink of playoff elimination.
Now, Denver will travel to Kansas City to play the Chief on Christmas night in a game that could be their last chance at having a shot at the postseason.
There wasn’t much to cheer about on Sunday, but as usual, we did learn a few things about this team.
1. This offensive line will need to be rebuilt … again
The Patriots are solid up front defensively, but they are hardly elite, and it looked like the Broncos offensive line might have some much-needed success.
On the first play, at least.
Running back Justin Forsett shot over the left tackle for 13 yards, and nearly eclipsed the rushing total of 18 yards from a week ago against the Tennessee Titans.
But Denver managed just 45 more yards on the ground the rest of the day.
Trevor Siemian was under constant pressure and was sacked four times.
John Elway knew he had to rebuild the offensive line after last season. Ryan Harris, Louis Vasquez and Evan Mathis were gone, and Donald Stephenson and Russell Okung were brought in to fortify the unit.
It hasn’t worked, and Okung could be gone after just one season.
Elway will have his work cut out for him again this spring.
2. The defense has too many holes
Once again, the Denver offense struggled to do much of anything, and the defense eventually wore down. But the defense has some issues of their own to address.
The Patriots rushed for 136 yards and controlled the clock for over 33 minutes.
The defense played about as well as they could against Tom Brady and company, yet they still allowed 4.3 yards per play.
Pats running back Dion Lewis rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown, averaging over 5 yards per carry.
As good as the Broncos pass defense has been, their run defense is proving to be just as soft week after week.
3. The Broncos failed to protect the football, and it cost them
It’s tough to beat the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick has put together a team that executes at a high level and doesn’t make many costly mistakes.
It’s even tougher to beat them when you turn the ball over three times, drop multiple passes and force zero turnovers by the opposition.
Jordan Norwood fumbled twice, and Siemian threw a costly interception that swung the momentum of the game early.
With the score tied at three, the Broncos put together an 11-play, 79-yard drive to the New England 20-yard line. But on second-and-9, Siemian made a costly mistake and was intercepted by Logan Ryan, who returned it to the Denver 46-yard line.
The Patriots would go on to score a touchdown seven plays later, and the Broncos energy was effectively sapped.
The Broncos are undefeated when they win the turnover battle; they didn’t even come close to doing that on Sunday.
4. Injuries and offseason losses have proven to be too much to overcome
The Broncos came into the season with hopes of defending their Super Bowl title, but the losses from that championship team have proven to be too much.
The leadership of Peyton Manning, the power of Malik Jackson, the tackling of Danny Trevathan and the special teams contributions of David Bruton have not been replaced.
And the injuries to Brandon Marshall, Derek Wolfe, C.J. Anderson, and Trevor Siemian have made it difficult to reach their full potential.
It isn’t easy to win in the NFL.
It’s even harder when you lose so much talent.
5. Their playoff chances are getting slimmer and slimmer
The Broncos fell to 8-6 on the season and will most likely need to win their last two games to have any shot at the playoffs.
That won’t be easy.
The Chiefs are now 10-4 and are always tough at home. Getting a win on next week may require a Christmas miracle. And the 11-3 Oakland Raiders will come to Denver in the final week of the regular season.
The Broncos season isn’t over yet, but it will be an uphill battle for this team to make the postseason.