For the last two months, Sundays in Denver have been Groundhog Day. You can almost predict how the game is going to turn out before it even begins.
Sunday’s 21-14 loss to the Oakland Raiders marked the seventh straight for the Broncos, — their longest losing streak since 1967 — and just like the previous six losses they’ve suffered this season, the formula wasn’t much different.
Among other things, their latest loss boiled down to the two things that have plagued the Broncos all year long. They turned the ball over when it mattered and couldn’t steer clear of penalties. When the final horn sounded, the Broncos had nine total penalties for 75 yards.
As the saying goes, the Broncos take one step forward and two steps back. Winning in the NFL is already tough enough. It becomes that much tougher when penalties stall offensive drives, extend the opposing team’s drives, and give the ball away. With 82 penalties for 667 yards, the Broncos are the sixth-most penalized team in the NFL through eleven games.
Penalties boil down to discipline, and an undisciplined team isn’t a good team. Right now, the Broncos aren’t a good team, and a large part of the reason they aren’t winning games is because they’re undisciplined.
Head coach Vance Joseph and former offensive coordinator Mike McCoy have sang the same song since the losing streak began. They want to see what a game looks like with no turnovers and a limited number of penalties. The Broncos haven’t done that yet, and they are 3-8 as a result.
There isn’t much left to play for at this point in the season, but there is still an opportunity to get better. Cleaning up penalties and taking care of the football are just two things that could make a big difference come the end of the season.
Getting better should be the Broncos’ number one priority.