“Whiners" and "Bitchers”: Everything you need to know about the Broncos-Patriots game being postponed

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos are on their Bye Week.

On Sunday morning, the NFL postponed the Broncos-Patriots Week 5 game — which had already been pushed to Monday — due to New England having their fourth positive COVID-19 test in the last eight days.

Here’s everything you need to know about the last-minute change and how the Broncos are dealing with it.

SCHEDULING CHANGES

The Broncos-Patriots game has been rescheduled to next Sunday. Instead of the Broncos hosting the Miami Dolphins in Week 6, they will now travel to New England to play the game that was originally scheduled for Week 5. The Broncos will play the Patriots on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m.

Denver was notified of the change on Sunday at 6:45 a.m. and Fangio informed the team shortly after. Instead of flying to New England later in the afternoon, the players were given the rest of the day off as Week 5 is now technically their Bye Week.

“We will give [the players] tomorrow and Tuesday off. And then I haven’t decided exactly yet how practice will be next week starting on Wednesday,” Fangio said, describing how the Broncos’ schedule will change. “I’m undecided at this point. Get some more facts at hand and by Wednesday, we will let them know.”

On Sunday afternoon, the NFL announced further changes to the schedule to adapt to Week 5’s game being postponed to Week 6.

Denver’s Week 6 game agaisnt Miami has been moved to Week 11. The Broncos will host the Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 2:05 p.m.

The Broncos were orignically scheduled to face the Chargers in Week 11. That game has now been moved to Week 8. Denver will host Los Angeles on Nov. 1 at 2:05 p.m.

Week 5 is now the Broncos’ current Bye Week. This is how Denver’s schedule looks for the rest of the season:

Week 5 — Bye Week

Week 6 — Broncos @ Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 18, 11 a.m.

Week 7 — Chiefs @ Broncos, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2:25 p.m.

Week 8 — Chargers @ Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2:05 p.m.

Week 9 — Broncos @ Falcons, Sunday, Nov. 8, 11 a.m.

Week 10 — Broncos @ Raiders, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2:05 p.m.

Week 11 — Dolphins @ Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2:05 p.m.

Week 12 — Saints @ Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2:05 p.m.

Week 13 — Broncos @ Chiefs, Sunday, Dec. 6, 6:20 p.m.

Week 14 — Broncos @ Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 13, 11 a.m.

Week 15 — Bills @ Broncos, Sunday, Dec. 20, time TBD

Week 16 — Broncos @ Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 27, time TBD

Week 17 — Raiders @ Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2:25 p.m.

The Broncos will finish their season playing 12-straight games, barring no further changes.

SILVER LINING

While the last-minute change is certainly not ideal — especially considering that Week 5 is now the Broncos’ Bye Week — there is a silver lining to Denver not having to play on Monday.

Drew Lock was listed as questionable for the game, but on Sunday, Fangio said he didn’t believe the Broncos’ starting quarterback would have been able to play on Monday.

“I think he’s progressing well. I don’t think he would have played if we had played tomorrow, although I do think in some ways he could have,” Fangio stated. “The extra week now will factor into that decision moving forward. But we’ll see.”

Lock returned to practice this past week for the first time since suffereing a bad bruise on his throwing shoulder in Week 2. He was listed as a limited participant in all three of the team’s practices throughout the week, but according to Fangio, Lock did not receive many first-team reps.

“We’ll see how he progresses these next 72 hours, how much better he gets and go from there,” Fangio said on if Lock will be able to play in Week 6. “But we’ll see.”

Of course, it also gives Cam Newton a better chance of playing as he now has an extra week to pass through the COVID-19 protocols. Fortuantely for the Broncos, they were preparing to face Newton all week long.

WHINERS AND BITCHERS

The last-minute postponement stinks for countless reasons. Heck, the Broncos just practiced throughout their entire Bye Week. They spent their one week off during the season working.

“All of this stuff is going to seem unfair when you’re initially hit with it. We’ve prepared for a game and the game first got moved one day and now it’s getting moved totally. It’s going to seem unfair,” Fangio stated. “You’re going to ask why are we doing this, but my message to [the team] and to anybody is ‘We were inconvenienced by this, but it very easily could have been flipped around to where we had the positive test and the Patriots were inconvenienced by it.'”

“So I’m happy that the positive tests weren’t in our building, but I’m under no illusion that at some point we might have a positive test or two and be the cause of the game getting moved down the road,” the head coach continued. “We’re all in this together — the entire league is. Yeah, we compete like hell on Sunday’s to beat each other, but ultimately, we’re all in this together. Doesn’t matter who is at fault or who had the positive test. We all just have to deal with it.”

And dealing with it is exactly Vic Fangio’s message to his players. So don’t expect to hear excuses from the head coach.

“It’s just part of the COVID season here that we’re playing this season within that there’s going to be adjustments that have to be made. They’re going to happen late. They’re going to happen when you might not be prepared. I was prepared for this,” Fangio said. “We’re just going to roll with the punches and adjust. My initital message to the team all the way back in training camp was this was going to be an improvise and adjust season. And now we’re being called on to improvise and adjust and we’ll do that.”

After learning of the news, many Broncos players took to social media to express their frusterations on Sunday morning. While the head coach understands his player’s initital reaction, he says the team has no choice but to adjust on the fly.

“I’m fully prepared to react and improvise no matter what happens. In a weird way, I’m kind of happy to see some of this stuff happen because you see who the whiners are, who the bitchers are, and who can’t handle adversity,” Fangio stated. “I’m going to try hard that the Denver Broncos don’t fall into any of those categories.”

At 1-3, coming off their Bye Week in which they worked, the Broncos face a plethora of adversity. The Broncos are ready for it, according to the head coach.

“Professional athletes, and professional football players in particular, handle adversity very well, Fangio stated on Sunday morning. “When the schedule has to change, the routine has to change, they all take a deep breath, step aside, analyze it and we move on. We all do like our routines. Me being one of them. Most coaches, most players like the routine, they like to know what’s happening weeks in advance, but that’s not going to be the case this year. I think we’ve all accepted that. In the long run, although it’s going to be an inconvenience and rocky along the way, we’ll all be better off for it.”

So no more complaining — or whining and bitching as the head coach might call it. Instead, adjust. That’s just what the Broncos will do.