ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A mere few days ago, the Denver Broncos were on top of the entire AFC at a perfect 3-0. The sun was shining, the fall temperature was a perfect 75 degrees and all was finally right in Broncos Country.
In a three-hour timespan on Sunday, however, Lamar Jackson did his best to ruin that in the Mile High City by handing the Broncos their first loss of the season.
Despite still sitting on top of the AFC—albeit with six other teams—at 3-1, Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is as crucial of a game as any team will find just five weeks into the season.
“We just got to respond, and this week is everything with us going against a tough Pittsburgh team,” Von Miller stated, putting massive importance on Denver’s next game.
And Von is right. The Broncos-Steelers game means significantly more—or everything, as Miller said—to Denver than just going to 4-1 or dropping to 3-2. If Denver wins, all will be right in the world. Regardless of the outcome, the Broncos will still have a winning record. At least, for the moment.
“We can’t have a hangover from [the Ravens] game and just get our focus back starting tomorrow on Pittsburgh,” Vic Fangio stated after Denver’s 23-7 loss to the Ravens.
If Denver’s hangover isn’t cured by the time they land in Pittsburgh, a remedy won’t be in sight any time soon and the pounding headache will only get significantly worse in the weeks that follow.
After playing the 1-3 Steelers, Denver hosts the 3-1 Las Vegas Raiders, then has to go to Cleveland and play the 3-1 Browns on Thursday Night Football. Even against bad teams, road Thursday night games aren’t a gimme. Against contenders, they’re a nightmare.
A loss against the Steelers on Sunday and the Broncos could be staring a four-game losing streak straight in the face. Their undefeated 3-0 start will be a distant, distant memory.
“We have no choice. We have to respond to this game on Sunday,” Justin Simmons stated on Wednesday. “If we want to continue playing good football—and obviously Sunday’s game was what it was all around, it just wasn’t a great game for us—but if we want to continue playing great football, you got to respond.”
Additionally, the AFC West is as tough as it gets. The Kansas City Chiefs are in last place in the division. The Chiefs. That shows how strong the division is. In fact, the AFC West and NFC West are the only two divisions in the NFL that don’t have a single team with a losing record. The AFC West has three teams with a winning record, while the NFC West only has two.
If Denver loses to the Steelers and the Chiefs beat the Bills, in a matter of two weeks, the Broncos would fall from first in the division riding a three-game win streak to last place in the division riding a two-game losing streak.
On top of all of that, the 1-3 Steelers are the worst team in Denver’s current four-game stretch. After beating the Bills in Week 1, Pittsburgh is riding a three-game losing streak in which they are losing by an average of 11 points per game. They are also 0-2 at Heinz Field.
“It’s not the loss this past Sunday that defines you as a football team, it’s how you respond to a loss that defines you as a good football team,” Simmons said, adding extra importance to Sunday’s game. “Practice this week has to be more amped than it has been in week’s prior. It can’t just stop there, right? It has to carry over to a tough environment going into Pittsburgh and finding a way to win on Sunday.”
Sure, the Broncos could bounce back from a loss against the Steelers and beat the Raiders and Browns in the following weeks.
Sure, the Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers could all lose this weekend as well.
And, yes, it’s also possible the Broncos could lose to the Steelers and then run the table and finish 15-2.
But if the Broncos drop this game, despite it only being Week 5, they would be putting themselves behind the eight ball already. And with the way the rest of the AFC West looks, that would be a tough mountain to climb the rest of the season.
“It’s a 17-round fight. We lost the fourth round,” Fangio stated. “We’ve got to get off the stool and go answer the bell for the fifth round.”
It’s time for the Broncos to punch back.
