Mike McCoy can’t say he didn’t warn them.
The Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator couldn’t have been more clear when describing the keys to getting the Broncos’ offense back on track ahead of their game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Topping that list was finding a way to limit the number of times the Broncos’ offense turned over the football.
After their 29-19 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, it seems as if the Broncos didn’t get the memo. They turned the ball over five times, their highest total in a single game this season.
Trevor Siemian’s three interceptions certainly didn’t do the Broncos any favors, but he wasn’t the only one turning over the football. Jamaal Charles’ first-quarter fumble was scooped up and returned for a touchdown, and Isaiah McKenzie’s muffed punt on the first drive of the second quarter led to a Kansas City field goal.
It’s hard enough to win in the NFL, and giving the opposing team five extra possessions doesn’t make it any easier. The Broncos have now dropped three straight games, and head coach Vance Joseph is seeing a pattern.
“The state of the team… obviously it is three in a row that we have lost, and you know all three losses looked the same,” Joseph said following the loss. “Tonight, we had five turnovers, which is unacceptable. You can’t win games that way.”
During the Broncos’ three game losing streak, they’ve turned the ball over 11 times.
“Our offensive line blocked,” Joseph said after Monday night’s loss. “We ran the ball for 177 [yards], but it all falls back to turning the ball over five times. That’s insane. You can’t win turning the ball over five times. Guys work too hard, along with coaches and players, to have a big game and give it away five times. It is mind-boggling.”
Had the Broncos been able to take care of the football, the game might’ve turned out a bit different. With the Chiefs unable to stop a Broncos’ run game that totaled 177 yards, the Broncos very well could’ve won the game, had they been able to do something with those five possessions.
On the opposite side of the ball, the defense was able to take the ball away twice from a Chiefs offense that hadn’t turned the ball over since the first play of the season.
“We should win these games,” linebacker Brandon Marshall said following Monday night’s loss. “We keep shooting ourselves in the foot over and over again the past three weeks. We can’t play like that. We can’t expect to make the playoffs and turn the ball over. We gave the ball away five times. That’s not winning football. It’s extremely frustrating. We’ve got to find a way to change it.”
The Broncos are not only in the middle of three game slide, but they are also in the middle of the meat of their schedule. Cornerback Chris Harris Jr. knows that if the Broncos don’t figure something out, their season may be over before they know it.
“We’ve got to score some points,” Harris Jr. said. “We’ve got to get some crucial stops when we can. We got back on the turnovers. We can’t win if we can’t score.”
