Will this team go out “kicking and screaming”?
In each of the last two years, the Broncos haven’t just ended their season with a loss; they’ve folded. With a combined score of 21-67, Denver’s last two playoff games have been deflating. For me, at least, I’ve really come to wonder if they have “what it takes” to win when it counts. More importantly, so did John Elway.
When Elway saw a team that didn’t go out “kicking and screaming,” he cleaned house; he brought in a new regime and attempted to instill a new mentality. But did it work?
I’ve been battling with that question all season, and after last Sunday’s game against the Patriots, I think I’m ready to say yes. I do believe this team is truly different, at their core, than the previous two; this team is fit to win when it matters.
I was sitting in the first row behind the Broncos bench last weekend, and from the moment the Patriots kicked off to the moment the Patriots took a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter to the moment C.J. Anderson raised his hands and entered the end zone in overtime, nobody on that team believed they were going to lose for a single second.
This is a team, a true team, and you can see it in their words and in their actions. When Demaryius Thomas dropped a pass, Brock Osweiler didn’t berate him on the sidelines like some (*cough, cough*) quarterbacks might have; he gave him a slap on the back and told him to keep his head in the game. And when it mattered most, DT made the catch.
I don’t know if the Broncos will win the Super Bowl, and I don’t know if the Broncos will even win a playoff game, but I do know that they’re not going to fold. If the Broncos do go out, they’ll go out kicking and screaming.
