Problems Denver Broncos Must Sort Out Quickly to Be True Super Bowl Contenders

When Ryan Allen's high-arching punt struck the Gillette Stadium turf and bounced off Tony Carter, eventually being recovered by the New England Patriots at the 13-yard line, we all knew it all but ensured a loss for the Denver Broncos.

It's easy to blame the loss on one boneheaded play by a notorious cornerback—Carter is the same player who lined up across Baltimore's Jacoby Jones on that infamous play in last year's playoffs—but the fact is that the Broncos' problems were seeping through well before that play ever happened.

For starters, you simply can't ignore the 10,000-pound elephant in the room that is Peyton Manning in cold weather games.

After last night's loss, Manning fell to 3-8 lifetime in games when the temperature is 32 degrees or lower at kickoff, throwing 13 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, according to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss.

The temperature at Gillette Stadium last night was a brisk 22 degrees at kickoff, and it only got colder from there. This continued to be bad news for Manning, who didn't look comfortable all night en route to playing his worst game of the season.

With the playoffs approaching and possible playoff games looming in Denver, New England, Kansas City and a Super Bowl game in New Jersey, the chances of the Broncos having to play a cold-weather game in the playoffs seems very likely.

This doesn't bode well for Manning, who just can't play to his usual level in those types of conditions. A possible playoff foe, meanwhile, seems to excel in bad weather, according to Sportscenter. 

While Peyton struggled through much of last night's game, he got virtually no help from his defense as the Patriots were on their comeback trail in the second half. 

Tom Brady marched his offense up and down the field in the final two quarters, leading his team to five straight scoring drives (four touchdowns) coming out of halftime. While two touchdowns came directly after Denver turnovers in their own territory, the Patriots still had two other touchdown drives of 80 and 64 yards.

The Denver defense had many chances to come up with a stop and halt the Patriots' momentum, and they failed every time, as they were simply helpless to stop Tom Brady. 

The Broncos have been so successful this season thanks to a historically good offense. While the defense has been good at times, more often than not they have simply been along for the ride.

Last night was a chance for the Broncos defense to step up, stop the bleeding and win the game, and they simply failed. If the defense can't win a game on a night when the offense isn't as explosive, the Broncos could be looking at a quick playoff exit.

The injury to cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie didn't help matters either, as he didn't return after injuring his shoulder on the last play of the first half.

The Broncos are already dealing with a season-ending injury to tackle Ryan Clady and were playing without tight end Julius Thomas on Sunday. The loss of Rodgers-Cromartie could be another big blow.

To add salt in the wound, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported a possibly even bigger loss after the game, with running back Knowshon Moreno walking around on crutches in the locker room.

Between Manning's continued struggles in cold weather, the lackluster second-half defense and some key injuries, the Broncos have a lot to think about as they gear up for another divisional showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

The question is, can they overcome all these issues to not only knock off the Chiefs but make a deep playoff run that ends with Peyton Manning lifting his second Lombardi Trophy in the chilly confines of MetLife Stadium?

Andrew Tornetta is a contributor for Bleacher Report. You can find his B/R archive and follow him on Twitter @AndrewTornetta.