BRONCOS ESPECIALLY BAD IN 41-16 LOSS TO PATS
Patriots blow out Broncos, who have five straight losses Denver has been outscored 165-68 in the losing streak
The phrase “Trust the Process” was born sometime around 2013 in Philadelphia and later adopted as the rallying cry for the NBA’s beleaguered 76ers. “TTP,” as it’s known, has since become emblazoned on T-shirts, tattooed on fans and stamped inside the shoes of the 76ers’ best players.
In recent weeks, the Broncos adopted the term to assuage fans during their losing streak.
But after Sunday night, the Broncos were left begging for more trust and more time. Denver defeated itself with four special-teams gaffes in a 4116 loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The loss, another blowout, was the Broncos’ fifth consecutive defeat since their bye week and was perhaps the final dagger to a forgettable season.
Denver did just as coach Vance Joseph hoped it wouldn’t and ensured an “unfair game” with turnovers and mistakes that proved the team’s downfall.
In each Denver loss this season, at least one unit has played especially poorly. Sunday the special teams “starred,” though the defense deserved
credit as a supporting actor with New England scoring 41 points and gaining 396 total yards.
“Obviously (special) teams was a glaring issue, but it was all three phases again,” Joseph said. “We talked about when you play teams like this, you have to win the pre-snap battle and you can’t beat yourself, and when you beat yourself it looks that way. So two weeks in a row it looks that way because you’re playing good football teams and you’re not playing sound football.”
After the Broncos held Brady and Co. to a three-and-out on their first possession, Denver returner Isaiah McKenzie muffed the ensuing punt and the fumble was recovered by New England. The turnover — the Broncos’ 20th this season — handed the ball to the Patriots on Denver’s 25-yard line and soon after New England scored for a 7-0 lead.
“We can’t fumble a punt return after going three-and-out,” Joseph said. “He’s our punt returner. That’s his job, so he has to do it. But looking forward, if he can’t do it, we’ll have to change.”
Four minutes later, Patriots returner Dion Lewis ran back a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead, sprinting past body after body of the Broncos’ coverage team that lie helpless after missed tackles.
The special-teams trifecta was achieved midway through the second quarter, when Riley Dixon’s punt was blocked by New England’s Rex Burkhead. Thanks to Denver’s defense, the Patriots had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown on that one.
And the grand slam came in the fourth quarter, when the Broncos were flagged for having 12 men on the field during a Patriots punt. Another free first down gifted New England seven more points.
“It would be nice to play a fair game just one time,” said Denver defensive end Derek Wolfe.
The Broncos (3-6) entered Sunday’s game having allowed an NFL-high 71 points off giveaways, accounting for 35.9 percent of opponents’ scoring total this season.
The collective special-teams damage was astounding and irreparable: The four gaffes resulted in 24 points for New England, helping the Patriots (7-2) take a 27-9 lead at the break.
“We have to look at scheme, personnel — all of it,” Joseph said.
The Dumpster fire of the special teams masked a decent showing from an offense that had been anything but the previous four weeks. The Broncos ran for 118 yards, quarterback Brock Osweiler connected with wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders for 137 yards on six catches and, for the first time in a long time, there was no collective gasp of fear before every Broncos snap.
The Broncos’ three first-half scoring drives stalled at New England’s 21-, 15- and 18-yard lines, respectively, and forced Denver to rely on kicker Brandon McManus for their first nine points.
But they finally found the end zone in the third quarter, as Osweiler sprayed passes to Demaryius Thomas and Sanders, and runs by Jamaal Charles pushed them into the red zone. A 7-yard pass to Thomas in the middle of the end zone brought the Broncos back within 27-16, and back in the game. Though not for long. Brady made a 75-yard scoring drive appear easy as he methodically picked apart Denver’s defense and expanded the Patriots’ lead. Their final touchdown off Denver’s fourth special-teams mistake sealed it, and the fans that booed at halftime fled for the exits with nearly 10 minutes remaining.
Osweiler finished with a .545 completion percentage (18-of-33 passing), 221 yards passing, one touchdown, one interception, zero sacks and a 72.9 rating.
Brady, meanwhile, passed to nine different receivers, went 25of-34 while throwing for 266 yards, three touchdowns and a 125.4 rating. New England’s tight ends — Rob Gronkowski, Martellus Bennett and Dwayne Allen — accounted for 123 of those yards, plus a touchdown.
“We have to do a better job of covering tight ends and backs,” Joseph said. “That’s been an issue all year.”
Brady was replaced by Brian Hoyer with more than four minutes remaining, the final sign of the Broncos’ sharp fall.
The Process, for the fifth consecutive week, didn’t work.