The Broncos are missing the one thing that could keep them on the rails

DENVER — “One, two, three—six weeks!”

If you’re a fan of the Denver Nuggets, reading that may have just made you cringe. Back in 2015, during a loss to the Jazz—one of many for the team that season—the team broke a huddle with that now-infamous chant that counted the days to the end of the season.

At the time, it was a symbol of rock bottom for the Nuggets. The were eliminated from the playoffs and were more interested in how much longer they had to the end of the season than the score of any individual game.

As the Broncos fell to 0-4 on Sunday after yet another heartbreaking loss, they found themselves all-but-eliminated from the playoffs themselves. Since the NFL expanded the playoff to include multiple wild-card teams in 1978, only one team—the 1992 Chargers—has made the playoffs after starting 0-4. One out of 120.

The Broncos are dead in the water, and we very well could be heading for a “one, two, three—six weeks” level of apathy. Unfortunately, this is going to get worse before it gets any better.

On Sunday, it was anger and frustration that filled the Broncos locker room after the game, and in this context, that’s actually a good thing, but those bursts of emotion only last so long, and if it hasn’t already, that emotion can often end up being aimed inward.

0-4 is uncharted territory around here. It’s the type of record that leads to players jumping ship, the type of record that leads to finger-pointing, the type of record that leads to coach questioning, the type of record that leads to freelancing.

So how do they prevent all that?

“That’s a good question, man,” said Derek Wolfe, without an answer. “I think that is something that will either make or break us as a team. You either stick together, or you separate, and everyone becomes an individual and does what is best for themselves. That’s when football isn’t fun anymore whenever you aren’t playing as a team… We have to use this to bring us together, use it as a positive otherwise we are in for another shit season.”

Here’s the question that will give you the answer to where this thing is headed—who is the glue? Who is the player that is going to rally the troops and get the Broncos to use adversity as a binding agent rather than a wedge?

Is it Von Miller? He looked like a sad puppy on Sunday afternoon in the locker room.

Is it Joe Flacco? He looked like, well, he looked like Joe Flacco always does. He’s not that guy.

Is it Bradley Chubb, Courtland Sutton or Phillip Lindsay? Shelby Harris already told us that second-year guys aren’t going to be leaders on a team with two Super Bowl MVPs. His words, not mine.

The answer is one of the reasons why the Broncos are here in the first place The Broncos don’t have a captain, like, literally, there isn’t a single guy with a C on their jersey. They don’t have that guy, so there’s no reason to believe that this adversity will bring them together. They’re in the danger zone, with Vegas predicting that 0-5 is right around the corner.

Wolfe said it himself, when guys start playing for themselves—and let’s not forget that seven of 22 Broncos starters are in a contract year—football stops being fun. When football stops being fun, the countdown will be on.

Say it with me now: One, two, three—13 weeks!