Broncos vs. Patriots: Why the Denver Broncos Should Be Ashamed of Poor Play

Following up one of the most compelling NFL games in recent memory with an epic and totally uncompetitive beatdown last night was more than a little bit of a letdown. In every facet of the game, the Broncos looked like exactly what they were: a team that had no business being in the playoffs, and one that, had it not been for Pittsburgh’s mile-long injury report, would have been sent packing handily last week. 

But I must say, even as someone who always saw the Broncos and Tebow as overhyped media darlings who feasted on the easiest road to the divisional playoffs in NFL history, I was shocked by the total lack of competitiveness displayed by the Broncos on both sides of the ball. At least in their first meeting the Broncos showed up and made a game of it early. Last night, the game was all but over from the moment the ball was kicked off.

There is plenty of shame to go around across the entire Denver roster and coaching staff, but let me start off with a guy who only deserves a small helping of shame. Despite his terrible play, there is little shame in being yourself, and that’s what Tebow was: himself, the worst passer in the NFL. To paraphrase the immortal words of Denny Green, “He was who we thought he was.” 

Also, we saw last night the reason that no one runs an option rushing attack in the NFL with any regularity: because it only works as a gimmick, and once teams spend any amount time preparing for it, NFL defenders are just too fast for it to succeed. Take that away from Tebow, as the Patriots did last night, and all you are left with is a guy who is totally incapable of running an NFL offense.

But let’s move on from Tebow. He is who he is and he’s Denver’s problem now, not mine. Plenty of words will be wasted on him when a simple “he’s not good” covers it fully. What really amazed me was the lack of fight out of the rest of the Broncos who had propped Tebow up this whole time.

From his receivers, who couldn’t get open against a very soft Patriots secondary just a week after running wide open against the Steelers, to their pass rush, which never made it out of the locker room and onto the field, the Broncos underperformed in almost every facet of the game. Even the Patriots' pass rush, which was non-existent for much of this season, had a field day against Tebow’s offensive line. It was truly stunning to see such a lopsided result so late in the season.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I have been a Broncos non-believer all season. No amount of close wins against poor competition could have convinced me otherwise. But to see them so dramatically outclassed was a bit of a shock, even to me. There were some things the Broncos did well this season, but none of them made an appearance last night.

There is a lot of soul searching to be done in the Mile High City this offseason. John Fox and John Elway will have to decide once and for all if they think Tebow can be more than just a sideshow at the media circus. Eight unimpressive wins was enough to get to the playoffs out of the worst division in football this year, but the Patriots, a flawed team in their own right, showed they are light years away from actually being competitive against top-tier teams.

The Broncos would be wise to wipe the Pittsburgh win from their memories entirely, as that was a totally different Steelers team towards the end of the season due to injury; a team that only narrowly managed to beat the pitiful Browns in Week 17. 

There are a lot of things to be excited about in Denver, as the same young talent that was a no-show last night should only get better with time. But last night was shamefully ugly, and far more representative of where the Broncos really are at this moment in time.