The fast is over: Let Broncos feast

And on the 70th day, the Broncos gave misery a rest. Ding, dong. The wicked streak is dead. Denver 23, New York Jets 0.

For 69 long days, the Broncos got no satisfaction. Defeat after defeat messed with their minds and gnawed at their guts. Lose eight in a row in the Not For Long, and everybody’s job is in jeopardy.

Seventy days between victories?

“People don’t fast for 60 days. Imagine not eating. That’s what losing felt like,” Broncos running back C.J. Anderson said Sunday.

Stand back and let the Broncos eat.

For 69 days, nobody recognized these losers wearing orange and blue, least of all Von Miller and the gang. Where was the team that ran the rock and made opposing quarterbacks wish they had never been born?

The formula of how Denver wins football games was tried, true and as beautiful as the

shiny Lombardi Trophy the Broncos brought home from Super Bowl 50.

So why did coach Vance Joseph mess with that formula? He turned Orange Crush into Broncos Zero. It smelled like vinegar and tasted like pickle brine.

All the happy victories in 2017 look the same for Denver. The Broncos run the football more times than quarterback Trevor Siemian throws it. What’s more, in their four wins, the Broncos have been a plus-2 in turnover margin. The turnover margin in their nine defeats? Minus-16.

It’s hard to lose eight straight games in a league tilted toward parity. How Denver stopped the streak wasn’t magic. The Broncos merely stepped aside to let the Jets trip over their own feet.

“This is what happens when we don’t give the game away. This is what happens when we don’t beat the Broncos,” said linebacker Brandon Marshall, after the defense posted its first shutout in 12 seasons.

On the opening possession on the game, Denver methodically drove 62 yards for a field goal. Then, looking as if the Jets’ offensive play calls were hard-wired into his helmet, Marshall blew up New York quarterback Josh McCown with a strip sack and turnover that set up Siemian with a short field, which he quickly turned into an easy touchdown and a 10-0 lead before the first quarter was eight minutes old.

There was a strange vibe at the stadium. It felt as if Denver players were re-introducing the championship team they used to be to a bunch of strangers, because it seemed as if a whole lot of people in the stands had never been to Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

We all know this franchise is so proud of its fan support it announces the number of empty seats at every home game, and the crowd lustily boos the no-shows. Well, there were 5,186 Broncos fans that couldn’t even give their tickets away.

One story I heard tells the tale of how far the most beloved team in town has fallen. A local business executive wanted to reward a valued departing employee with a farewell present and thought about gifting tickets to this game until ultimately deciding that sitting through Broncos vs. Jets might not be considered any reward at all.

“We understand how tough it is on the fans. It stinks,” Siemian said.

Let’s set aside the cynicism for a few hours, and ignore the fact that every victory is very bad for the math of tanking. Beating the Jets dropped Denver from the No. 4 pick in the 2018 NFL draft to the fifth selection in the first round, with real danger of tumbling toward the lower reaches of the top 10 if the Broncos ride this momentum all the way to Indianapolis and defeat the wretched Colts on Thursday night. Oh, well. None of us really expected general manager John Elway to identify a franchise quarterback in the draft, did we?

For the moment, let’s take joy in the little things, like the song of laughter that again filled the Denver locker room.

“I talked to somebody on the sideline and asked, ‘How come we didn’t play like this the last eight games?’ It’s been two months since we’ve played good football,” Marshall said. “And that’s a shame, because we’re a great football team. On paper. But paper doesn’t win you games.”

In victory, Broncos president Joe Ellis walked past all the smiles toward the locker-room door, looking as if he could use a good night’s sleep, finally able to rest easy.

Through the years, I’ve made a habit of greeting Ellis with the same, simple salutation after Denver victories. It’s a reflection of the franchise’s sustained success that I’ve offered him the same postgame acknowledgment too many times to count. “Congratulations,” I told Ellis. Exhaling with relief, Ellis replied: “It’s been a while.”

Indeed. This was the worst losing streak the Broncos have endured in 50 years.

And on the 70th day, it ended. Good riddance.