Broncos are in serious trouble
The Denver Broncos are likely going to win the AFC West. After watching Andy Dalton break the thumb on his throwing hand, there is even a very good case to be made that they will wind up as the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. Denver has all the obvious earmarks of a contender, but the closer inspection shows major flaws.
On Sunday, the Broncos fell at home to a divisional opponent for the second time this season. In Week 10, the Kansas City Chiefs came into Sports Authority Field and pasted Denver, taking a 29-0 fourth-quarter lead and forcing Peyton Manning to bench after recording four interceptions. This time around, it was the Oakland Raiders who took advantage of a pair of Denver fumbles and won an ugly contest, 15-12.
The Broncos have a killer defense, which limited Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to an 11.2 QBR and the Oakland offense to only 126 total yards, its lowest output of the season by far. It was a game in which the Raiders committed 10 penalties while Denver only had four flags thrown on it. The Broncos controlled the ball for nearly 36 minutes, and racked up 20 first downs compared to eight.
It would be easy to say that Oakland won because of a fluke, and there is some truth to that. The Raiders on their best day are nowhere near as good as the Broncos on theirs, but that should be of no concern to Denver. The real concern is a horrific offense that is clearly holding this team back. The worst part? There is no answer.
The offensive line is an absolute sieve. Khalil Mack went crazy against left tackle Ryan Harris, beating the veteran for five sacks. Meanwhile, Brock Osweiler threw the ball 51 times and was only able to throw for 308 yards, a paltry average of 6.0 yards per attempt. Osweiler looks every bit like a game manager who feels uncomfortable climbing the pocket or making timing throws. The problem is what to do with him, considering Manning looks no better when healthy.
Then there is the running game. Despite facing one of the worst run defenses in the league, Denver was held to an abysmal 34 yards on 21 carries, with Ronnie Hillman actually leading the team with 20 yards on 12 attempts. Factor in the complete and utter lack of a rushing attack, a mediocre quarterback and an appalling offensive line, and the Broncos are in a bad way at the wrong time.
In the final analysis, the Broncos should have won on Sunday, but that is to miss the bigger point. In the AFC playoffs, they won’t be playing the Raiders. Denver will have to beat the Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals. Without major strokes of luck, the Broncos are not going to accomplish that barring the defense pitching a shutout.
Denver is living on borrowed time. The clock is nearing midnight.
