Normally, the Broncos overcome a slow start by finishing with a flurry and recently, with a win.
Sunday against the Patriots, the Broncos started strong but then faded, thanks in large part to three second quarter turnovers which the Patriots turned into 13 points, en route to a 27-16 halftime lead.
Losses are hard enough to take. Losses in which a team feels its own mistakes played a pivotal role are even tougher to swallow.
Yet, despite falling to the Patriots, the Broncos are still in good shape to make the playoffs. They are still on track to win the division.
That’s what I’m focusing on. Perspective is so key. Despite the disappointment of losing, the Broncos’ big picture outlook remains bright. I’m not using the big picture to excuse away what happened against New England, but I am keeping in mind that not a lot changed for the Broncos because of the loss.
The Lions’ dramatic one-point win over the Raiders kept Oakland one game behind Denver in the AFC West race. The Chargers are also a game back after defeating the Ravens. The Broncos know that if they take care of business against Buffalo and Kansas City, they will advance to the postseason.
And the good news is Denver has plenty of room to improve.
“We haven’t played our best football yet but I think we feel good about the position we’re in, in terms of the division race,” cornerback Andre’ Goodman said after the loss to New England. “Right now, that’s the only thing we can focus on, and being able to play better, especially in big games like this.”
Cornerback Champ Bailey said Sunday’s loss needs to serve as a wake-up call.
“We need to concentrate on getting better,” Bailey admitted. “We showed today we’re not ready to go into the playoffs and make a push. We gotta get better. We have only two or three weeks to do it and if we don’t, we’ll be sitting at home.”
I believe the Broncos will get better and I firmly believe they’ll win the division. Why? Because they have the players who will take the loss to the Patriots to heart and who will redouble their efforts to improve, as Goodman and Bailey suggested they need to do.
In addition, Sunday’s loss, while disappointing, had to convince the Broncos they indeed belong in the playoff picture and indeed are capable of making a push if they get there.
“We learned we can play with those guys and win the physical battle,” quarterback Tim Tebow told 850KOA after the game. “We can score points on a team like that and our defense can stop them. We just have to do it a little more consistently and we can’t turn the ball over.”
One game lead in the division. Room to improve. The type of players and coaches that will put the effort in order to get better. Take care of things and the Broncos know they are in the playoffs.
Those are all reasons which make the loss to the Patriots a bit easier to stomach.
Do you think the Broncos will win the AFC West and advance to the playoffs? I’d love to get your thoughts.
Thanks for reading and posting.
Sincerely,
Mike
Tags: Mike Rice
My computor is freezing up, two pots are the same, weird. It`s snowing here in Colorado.
Hey Miller, that web whatever he called himself had you a little worked up last night.wouldn’t you like to get your hands on a maggot like that. At least he finally crawled back in his hole unlike glasnax.
If Dawk is willing, I think we should sign him to a 1 year deal for 2012. He`s playing like a young man.
id rather play the ravens over pitt anyday butt at the same time im pretty sure big ben is real banged up and if my memory is correct i think ryan clark the saftey for pitt has some sort of medical condition were he cant play in denvers elevation.
since1972 ya that fool had me pissed last night i think i had some swift comments towards him lastnight though.lol
Yes, Clark would be a no show. The condition is life threatening too, he won`t even be on the plane to Denver.
Dawk is the man! You can tell his lack of precence on the field when he’s hurt. It was the same when Lynch was hurt back in those days.
Was the dude acting like a troll?
Dawk looks like he`s 25 years old when healthy. If he still has that passion, he`ll want to come back I`d think.
are secondary looked pretty bad last night what a tuff task for a few rookies. not just the rookies but even my main man champ missed a few open tackles and goodman looked terrible. we have to get dawk back he is the glue to this d
ya a gay troll
Had stupid court this morning, tickets dismissed. Just a waste of time… Ugh lol
Anyway, I’m already ready to head to Buffalo and play some good ground and pound in the cold weather.
About the Patriots game, you already know how I feel about should’ve, could’ve, would’ve those are terms I absolutely abhor. We looked good in the first quarter and I am looking forward to seeing if the coaching staff can get that type of start to these last two games.
Starting games like that and then finishing them like we’ve done while we were on our winning streak would be tremendous!
“We never quit and that’s going to be our identity: A fighting team ’till the end.” -Champ Bailey
ILMSDB
-Royalty
N.E. has two fast TE`s that are hard to cover, give them credit. Our secondary has holes at CB and Safety.
I think we are thinking to much about the playoffs. We should concentrate on the Bills. One game at a time. We should’ve beat the Patriots but our defensive game plan sucked. It was to passive. We should’ve pressured Brady the hole game. Look what happen when we did. A few sacks & rushed passes. All we did when the ball was snapped we retreated & Brady just dumped the ball in front of the linebackers. I forgot, our tackling sucked also, looked like they were afraid to tackle. I have never understood how a team can start off so good & then completely fall apart. They made ajustments & we didn’t I guess. My god we were playing against the worst defense in the NFL.
Take away the turnovers we have a different game. I`m not saying we would have won, but it would have been closer. Hey, the Pats capitalized on our mistakes, thats football. we did the same thing to the Bears, Vikings, and Dolphins. You capitalize on the other teams mistakes. It`s football!! We`ll get a win in the next game.
Dawkins is an important part of our secondary when it comes to communication.
“As a defense we weren’t communicating the right way and they took advantage of some of the things that we were trying to do,” said Goodman. “We were discombobulated. Combine that with the mistakes and when you start making those mistakes combined that with the big plays we were giving up, its hard to overcome those type of things.”
man yesterdays game had me pumped up in that first qtr then i was slumped over on my couch the rest of the game. when we went up 16-7 early i was screaming so loud i thought my neighbors might call the cops then all went down the crapper. bummer
Prediction; Broncos win 23-18.
im sure the denver players feel they beat them selves in this game and know that with fewer mistakes they woulda had a real shot at keeping it closer then it was.
We beat ourselves in a sense. We had momentum with a 16-7 lead and then the fubles. Game over from that point on. You make mistakes against Pats you are mincemeat. You gotta play mistake free football against them all game long.
Fumble
Ah, time to move on, games over.
It`s a short weekend for most NFL teams.
Strand you may not say it but i will … i believe we woulda won, because we woulda kept pounding down their throat, and lets not forget we stalled a few of their drives early so the defense had some success in the begining, jus tlost momentum in epic fashion. Sure it woulda been highscoring but i think we woulda come out of top and can’t wait to see them again. once we started turnign it over, we pretty much stopped playing ground and pound bronco ball in high elevation. I believe if we make playoffs and see em again … we will beat them, YEA I SAID IT lol. Yup call me a koolaid drinker or a disciple but i believe we are capable. But no need working in hypotheticals, all about whats going on now.
Broncofan, we can talk about the playoffs, we don’t have to take it one game at a time. Sure it might be bad for our health if we get to ahead of ourselves and fall flat on our face but we aint playing … they are … they are the ones that need to be focused on one game at a time. Thats what fans have as an advantage … they can just throw out wild scenarios lol.
TRB
well said TRB i like your fire man i feel the same way. im drunk on koolaid.lol
all week leading up to that game everyone was saying we should throw and throw some more on there last ranked pass d but it was there rush d that stunk up the joint. they couldnt stop anything we were doing all they could hope for was denver stoping themselves and they did. sucks but we still have a couple big games ahead and i like our chances
I completely agree with you Mike. I deeply expect the Team and Coaches will work to play well this last two games, win the division and get to the playoffs.
How come no one wants to talk about our potential playoff clinching scenerio this weekend. It we win and the Raiders and Chargers lose we win the AFC West. Am I correct here with my assumption? I don’t see this anywhere on NFL.com playoff picture breakdown.
Broncos win the division if one of the following two things happens.
1) They win the next two games; or,
2) They beat Kansas City.
If the Broncos finish 1-1 and beat Buffalo but lose to Kansas City, Oakland can win the Division if they go 2-0. The teams will be tied, but Oakland will have the superior AFC West Record. As long as Denver beats buffalo, then San Diego and Kansas City are both eliminated.
If the Broncos lose both remaining games, then
1) Kansas City wins the Division if they finish 2-0 and all teams are 8-8. This is their only path to the playoffs. This requires: San Diego defeats Detroit in week 16; Oakland defeats San diego in week 17.
2) San Diego or Oakland wins the division by winning their remaining two games. They face off in week 17 so both cannot go 2-0
3) Denver can finish 8-8 and win the division if Oakland beats KC this week, San Diego loses to Detroit this week, and San Diego beats Oakland in week 17.
Or something like that, haha.
The reason it’s hard to find something about it is the league has yet to release official playoff scenarios. So take all of that as unofficial material. They’ll probably do it after tonight’s game.
Definitely a good loss for the Broncos to experience going into the playoffs – which I believe they can make it. A win over the Patriots may put the team into complacency mode and lose the playoffs. If the team learnt their mistakes and work on weaknesses from this game, sky is the limit.
It’s good the Patriots did not take on the Broncos lightly.
Well done Broncos, continue to BELIEVE!!!
They can do it! Buffalo Bills are 5-9 they can beat them. But with the Chiefs beating Green Bay with Kyle Orton as starter, they need to change up their plays. Kyle knows all of the Broncos secrets. If they can beat both teams and get their game on, they can do it. They just need to believe and play hard. PLay-offs are not easy. One game loss and good bye. I believe the Broncos can do it!! Win both games and play hard against the challenging teams.
Go Broncos Go!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m with you all….at the end of the day, this will be considered one of the most exciting seasons in Bronco history, no matter how the season ends. I for one have enjoyed evey edge of the seat minute of it….Good for Denver, Good for the Broncos and Good for the Fans.
Broncos Forever!
Peace Love and Joy to you all…