The Broncos have a much bigger problem on their hands than an 0-2 record

 

DENVER — With four minutes and 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ Sunday afternoon meeting with the Chicago Bears, Joe Flacco dropped back to pass on 3rd-and-goal from the 2-yard line.

It was a throw that Flacco certainly wishes he had back, as it sailed over the head of Emmanuel Sanders and into the hands of Kyle Fuller.

But as the Bears offense and Broncos defense made their way onto the field, there was a whole lot more movement in the stadium. It was Broncos fans who, by the thousands, were headed for the the exits.

If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought it was a three-score or at least a two-score game. Such was not the case. At the moment of the mass exodus, Denver trailed by just seven points, 13-6.

“We don’t score a lot of points, and we’re not entertaining, so I can understand,” said Chris Harris Jr. of the fans bailing with plenty of time left.

Shelby Harris held a different opinion.

“That’s disrespectful,” he said. “We went out there and shut their ass down… You find out who the real fans are. Who’s here for a beer and who is here for the team.”

While those fans missed out on a fantastic finish to the game, the exodus was a symptom of a much, much bigger problem.

Losing. Culture.

Do you think Broncos fans would have been heading for the parking lot down seven with three timeouts and a star-studded defense? Broncos fans left the game because they’ve only seen seven wins at home over the last two seasons.

Losing culture can infect a fanbase too.

The Broncos are a very proud franchise, and since Pat Bowlen took over the team in 1984, they’ve been one of the winningest organizations in sports, but they are quickly learning that winning culture is not permanent.

In fact, in just over three years, the Broncos have gone from one end of the spectrum to the opposite. Vic Fangio has a much bigger project on his hands than simply re-energizing a defense with loads of talent.

As someone who has seen a lot of losing football over my years in the press box, Sunday’s Broncos loss had all the makings of a team that’s gone too far down the wrong path.

A beyond questionable call that hurts you in the worst moment. A second in which it seems you’re going to pull it off. A temper tantrum when you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

In the locker room, there were even more signs.

“At the end of the day, the clock is at zero,” said Derek Wolfe. “Where does that one second come from? That magical second.”

Regardless of your feelings on the time at the end of the game, here’s the deal—the Broncos had the Bears in 4th-and-15 from their own 40 with nine seconds left, and they allowed Chicago to gain 25 yards. Winners don’t let that happen.

While he may have been ruled down for “giving himself up” a better team may have let the clock run out for another second while Allen Robinson laid on the groud, rather than touching him down and allowing Chicago to call the timeout in the first place.

There were plenty of opportunities for Denver to point the fingers at themselves, but nearly all off of the fingers in the locker room were facing outward.

In some corners of the room, players whispered blame upon other teammates, in others, they placed it on the refs, in others, they boasted about personal stats, in others, they snapped at the media.

Sorry to say it, but this is what losers do. Losing culture is a dangerous and contagious disease, and the Broncos locker room is contaminated.

So what do you do when your culture is broken? Well, in most places, they rebuild. In Denver, a head coach with no experience will be tasked with fixing the culture on the fly while the front office is headstrong about winning now.

Good luck, Vic.