Frustration and sloppy play from the Denver Broncos climaxed and boiled over Sunday in Philadelphia as the Broncos were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles, 51-23.
The Broncos committed nine penalties in the first half on Sunday, a continued problem for the team. Denver finished with 14 penalties in total for 105 yards.
After starting the season 3-1, the Broncos now find themselves in the bottom half of the AFC West, 3-5 on the season. For the first time since the Kyle Orton/Tim Tebow era in 2011, the Broncos are under the .500 mark halfway through the season.
Turnovers once again plagued the offense, as Brock Osweiler threw two interceptions, one of them, into triple-coverage. He also fumbled once (recovered by center Matt Paradis) and never established any sort of consistent flow on offense, held up by multiple penalties on the offensive line as well.
Denver was coming off a game in which they turned the ball over five times in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, including three interceptions by Trevor Siemian. That performance opened the door for Osweiler to make his first start in Denver since 2015.
“Ball security is job security,” said Osweiler in his first press conference as starter this past week.
If ball security is indeed job security, Osweiler’s job is far from locked with young quarterback Paxton Lynch waiting in the wings. Denver may be due for another switch at quarterback when Lynch is healthy.
What felt like a nightmare first half re-lived for Bronco fans, turned into a full game of frustration.
Sunday’s first half on defense was the first time since the infamous 59-point Oakland Raider game from 2010 that an opponent’s offense scored 30-plus points on the Broncos defense in the first half.
That nightmare Sunday against Oakland in 2010 is also marked as the last time an opponent scored 50-plus points on the Broncos defense, prior to Sunday.
Denver, for the first time since John Elway joined the front office in 2011, has lost four games in a row.
Coming into Sunday, Broncos offensive drives end with a turnover 18.2 percent of the time. That’s a ratio that slots them 31st in the NFL, only in front of the Cleveland Browns for worst percentage in the league. Denver also came into Sunday the second-worst in team turnovers lost.
The Broncos continue to amass new problems with each passing week. This week, they were highly-penalized an not careful with the football – a recipe for disaster any football Sunday.