Here are the three things that became clear in the Denver Broncos’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens

DENVER — First things first: Despite the toxicity that surely pervades some corners of Broncos Country right now, the Broncos’ season is not over. Far from it.

There was going to be an overreaction no matter what happened on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens — a game that edge rusher Von Miller said was “like a playoff game.” Win, and Super Bowl chatter would have sprouted. Lose, and the Broncos are the same old bunch that hasn’t had a winning season since the Obama Administration.

So, just as I would have been the party pooper bringing you down to reality if the Broncos had won, I’ll be the pragmatist who tells you that this isn’t the moment to panic after the Broncos’ 23-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

But three things became clear on a sun-spangled early-autumn afternoon.

1) They’ve reached the limit of how many injuries they can absorb without being seriously impacted.

The Broncos could get by without Jerry Jeudy being able to stretch the field as long as they had KJ Hamler capable of doing the same thing. They could muddle through with Netane Muti replacing Graham Glasgow, even though Muti, like most young linemen is continuing to refine his form as a pass protector.

But eventually, the rubber band gets stretched to the point that it snaps. And while it wasn’t necessarily evident in the specific matchups for Muti and Meinerz, it was evident in the collective of protecting quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock. Inevitably, the veterans up front innately know they must help their younger teammates, especially given the collaborative nature of pass protection. And when facing a defensive line as strong as Baltimore’s, it led to some hiccups.

“I think it just came down to the little things — particularly me. I didn’t play too well,” said left tackle Garett Bolles. “I feel like that loss is on me, being the leader of the offensive line. I wasn’t doing my job 100 percent like I needed to [in order] to make Teddy feel comfortable.

Baltimore hit Denver’s quarterbacks on 11 of 42 dropbacks Sunday. Eight of the hits — including three of the sacks — came with a four-man rush. Two other hits saw a five-man rush with one player quickly dropping into short-area coverage.

When you combine two young guards — including one making his first career start — with a receiving complement that lacks the vertical deep threat to keep opponents from stacking the box to challenge the Broncos’ young interior line, you have the point at which the offense finally broke, finishing with its lowest scoring output in its last 21 games played with a quarterback.

2) Teddy is QB1.

Bridgewater wasn’t at his best, and his accuracy didn’t match up to the first three weeks. But in a first-half sequence that evoked bad memories of Drew Lock’s start in New England last year, his pass catchers let him down — none more so than Albert Okwuegbunam, who appeared to lose track of the football in the bright October sun and let a potential touchdown catch slip between his hands.

Bridgewater did lead the only touchdown drive of the day — with Javonte Williams providing the primary thrust with his 31-yard jaunt carrying defenders on his back. But there was nothing in Lock’s play to show that the reins should remain his when Bridgewater is cleared through the league-mandated post-concussion protocol.

Before the potential window-dressing final drive that ended in an end-zone interception, Lock was just 8-of-15 for 54 yards with no touchdowns, no picks and a 61.5 rating. On his first four series, the Broncos mustered just four first downs and 9.5 net yards per possession.

Lock did well when asked to deliver quick strikes, just as Bridgewater did in the game’s early stages. But he did not fare well under pressure, which was a carryover from his performance in training camp, preseason and the two joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings.

ESPN’s QBR metric looked kindly on neither quarterback; Bridgewater had a 9.7 rating that was third-worst among all quarterbacks this week. The second-worst? Lock, at 6.5. Only Houston’s Davis Mills and his Nathan Peterman-esque performance separated the Broncos’ quarterbacks from the bottom of the league this week.

“Well, I think his performance was just like the rest of the offense. We just weren’t good enough today after the one touchdown we got, and we really couldn’t get anything going,” Fangio said. “We weren’t getting it going with Teddy either after the touchdown drive so I think it’s more of a collective thing offensively than a quarterback thing.”

And that is worth noting. Bridgewater is more efficient; Lock remains boom-or-bust. But nothing happened Sunday to change how they stack up.

3) This team is a playoff contender. But pushing for the Super Bowl? Not right now.

The Broncos are not as bad as they seemed Sunday, but not as dominant as they appeared in their first three games. Reality rests somewhere in between — which likely puts them in a thicket of teams battling for the last wild-card spot or two.

It’s a long season, and with the addition of a 17th game, the Broncos aren’t even at the quarter-pole yet; that’ll happen 15 minutes of game time into their duel with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field next Sunday.

Denver is 5-4 coming off of double-digit losses under Fangio — which includes the defeat that followed their QB-less loss to New Orleans last year. But the Broncos’ average point swing from a double-digit loss to the following game under Fangio is plus-24, with just one of those nine series of games seeing anything below a plus-20-point swing.

“We’re on to the next game,” Fangio said. “We can’t have a hangover from this game and just get our focus back starting tomorrow on Pittsburgh.”

There is plenty of evidence that the Broncos will avoid that kind of hangover next week.

The Broncos are just one game into perhaps their toughest six-game stretch of the season. A .500 record in those games is still well within their grasp. It might not make them elite, but it would place them squarely in the postseason conversation.

Yes, it’s not all that you dream of. But after the last few years, that would be a massive improvement. That might have to be enough for the 2021 Broncos.