Elway’s GM magic long gone
Once-dominant Broncos have won just eight of past 22.
Twenty-one months ago, John Elway was basking in a confetti shower as he put his fingerprints on the third Super Bowl trophy he’s captured for the Denver Broncos and dedicated it to team owner Pat Bowlen, who’s battling Alzheimer’s.
Not much has gone right for Elway and the Broncos since that night in Northern California:
■ Gary Kubiak resigned.
■ Peyton Manning retired.
■ Brock Osweiler bolted.
■ Mark Sanchez bombed.
■ Paxton Lynch flopped.
■ C.J. Anderson crumbled.
■ Brandon McManus missed.
■ Russell Okung exited.
■ DeMarcus Ware departed.
■ Wade Phillips left.
■ Calais Campbell snubbed.
■ Trevor Siemian struggled.
■ Vance Joseph dawdled.
■ Brock Olivo ducked.
■ Mike McCoy pinkslipped.
Ever since Von Miller led the Broncos past Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, the franchise has been in a state of flux.
Kubiak fell ill after a 4-0 start last season and the Broncos haven’t been an elite team since. They’ve won just eight of their past 22 games and are mired in a six-game losing streak, their longest single-season skid since 1990.
That’s a measly .363 winning percentage for a franchise that’s been to two of the past four Super Bowls.
If they can’t turn things around Sunday in Oakland with Bill Musgrave calling the shots and Lynch running the plays, they’ll have their biggest nosedive since losing a franchise-worst nine straight in 1967.
A half century ago. Elway’s mantra of “winning now and from now on” needs an update to an Al Davis-like “Just win one, baby.”
Elway chimed last weekend with a calculated dig at his team.
“To be dead honest with you, we got a little bit soft,” Elway declared. “We went 4-0 in the preseason, we started out 3-1, then we get a bye week and if you exhale in this league, you’re in trouble.”
Although the Broncos have been outscored 185-85 during their skid, several players said calling them soft was uncalled for.
“I understand this is his team and he put it together, so his name is on it, but it’s our skin in the game,” linebacker Brandon Marshall said. “Nobody is soft on this team. We work our butt off and we work hard. We play hard and we go out there and give it 100 percent every game and every practice. We just fall short.”
Bears: Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was placed on injured reserve, ending his season because of a knee injury sustained Sunday in a loss at Soldier Field to the Lions.
Bears coach John Fox said Monday that Floyd did not suffer a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but the damage to the knee is severe enough to keep him from playing again this season.
Floyd, the ninth overall pick in the 2016 draft, had 4½ sacks this season and had seven as a rookie.
The Bears promoted outside linebacker Howard Jones from their practice squad to take Floyd’s spot on the roster.
Jets: A bye-week break wasn’t enough to get Matt Forte back on the field. The running back remains sidelined from practice with an ailing knee and is uncertain to play Sunday against the Panthers.
Forte, who turns 32 on Dec. 10, missed the Jets’ last game at Tampa Bay on Nov. 12 with swelling in his surgically repaired right knee. Bilal Powell starts in his absence.