The Blame Game: Too many questions, not enough answers as Broncos season spirals downward

 

It was the best of football, it was the worst of football.

On Sunday evening in Pittsburgh, the Denver Broncos were first thoroughly devastating on both sides of the football, and then absolutely atrocious in nearly all aspects of the game late.

In the first half – aside from Ronnie Hillman‘s first drive fumble which led to an easy score for the Steelers – Denver’s offense was picture perfect. The unit scored it’s first touchdown in 25 drives when Demaryuis Thomas caught Brock Osweieler’s pass in the end zone. They also went 8-8 on third down conversions in the first half of football, constructing drives and finishing them with touchdowns. Four of those drives ended in the end zone and Osweiler was enjoying a perfect passer rating into the second quarter.

The kid looked like an experienced gun-slinger, even running for a touchdown when the defense retreated to cover his receivers.

Meanwhile, Denver’s defense allowed the first touchdown following Hillman’s fumble, then held Pittsburgh to two field goals the rest of the half for a 27-13 lead.

Going into halftime, Brock Osweiler’s stat line read, 14 of 18 for 214 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 touchdown run. It seemed the Broncos would walk away with an easy victory.

Instead, the offense wouldn’t score another point – started the half 0-6 on third down conversions – and the defense gave up 24 straight points to lose 34-27.

THE BLAME GAME

Blame Brock Osweiler

He threw a costly, ill-advised interception while trying to force the ball into Emmanuel Sanders with only 4:20 to play. He was off all second half, partly due to consistent pressure in his face and partly because he’s still so inexperienced he doesn’t know how to handle big-time situations. While he was on fire in the first half, Osweiler looked like a lost rookie after halftime.

Blame the receivers

Vernon Davis dropped a crucial pass on 3rd and 16 with 7:42 on the clock because he was afraid of being hit and there were numerous drops all night long to go with it. This seems to be an epidemic right now.

Blame the defense

They gave up numerous big plays due to missed tackles. Chris Harris Jr. went from not allowing a touchdown pass since 2013 to allowing the biggest game a wideout has had since 2011. Bradley Roby was picked on often as well. The Steelers did whatever the hell they wanted to do in the second half.

Blame Gary Kubiak and his coaching staff

A lack of halftime adjustments is clear as day after scoring zero points in the second half of the last three games and Todd Haley tortured Wade Phillips in the second half. They say penalties are the fault of bad coaching and the Broncos killed themselves in that department on Sunday. Kubiak acknowledged this after the game saying, “The second half on two of our first three runs, we got holding penalties. Like I said, we hurt ourselves.”

Simply, there’s plenty of blame to go around as the Broncos plummet to earth like a meteor burning up on entry.

It’s worse than than just losing one game. The implications surrounding this loss go far beyond the dumpster fire in Pittsburgh Sunday.

Denver’s 34-27 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday can be considered a microcosm of the team’s season to this point. The Broncos started the season 7-0 and have gone 3-4 since.

Like in 2012, 2013 and again in 2014, did the Broncos peak too early this season? That win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football was magical and still stands as the best all-around game the team has played. The let-down following that win includes a blowout loss at the hands of the division rival Kansas City Chiefs and then being out-scored 49-0 in the 2nd half of games the last two weeks.

Speaking of the Chiefs, with this loss and a combination of Kansas City’s eighth straight win, the Arrowhead faithful are now only one game out of first in the AFC West behind the Broncos. And K.C. holds the tie-breaker.

It’s time to hit the panic button in the Mile High City.

It’s time for answers from Kubiak and Co. What are the reasons behind the second half collapses the losses to the Raiders and Steelers? Where are the halftime adjustments? Is Osweiler too young and his understanding of the offense too raw to make the necessary adjustments offensively? Has the defense been figured out or are they just missing starting safeties T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart?

After beating the Green Bay Packers 29-10 in Week 8, the Broncos looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders. With just two weeks until the playoffs, there are now more questions than answers for Denver.

The biggest of which currently is: Will they be able to hold onto the AFC West?