Broncos-Patriots: Denver Limps into Bye Week After Crushing Defeat

The New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos met on Monday night in a matchup that had playoff implications. The Patriots came away as the only team that looked worthy of that opportunity.

Six turnovers and a poor run defense plagued the Broncos in this one, while Matt Cassel and the Patriots did what they do best—take advantage of the opponent's weaknesses.

Denver traded scoring opportunities for turnovers throughout the game, and the Patriots made them pay, scoring 20 points off of Denver's mishaps.

Jay Cutler injured his right index finger on the first play from scrimmage, and the star quarterback wasn't the same the rest of the contest, eventually coming off the field for a drive.

New England looked impressive in this game, and it was undoubtedly a must-win for them. As for the Broncos, although it would have been enormous for them to take a two-game lead on San Diego, the Broncos aren't in any immediate distress.

Going into their much-needed bye week, the Broncos lead the AFC West over the Chargers by one game. San Diego plays New Orleans in London this week and has a bye the following week. 

If the Chargers were to win that contest, the AFC West, after Week Eight would show Denver leading by 0.5 games, while San Diego has a bye, Denver hosts Miami. 

If the Broncos can't pull that game out, they will, at the very worst, be tied for first place heading into Week 10, where San Diego plays Kansas City, and Denver plays the Thursday night game against Cleveland.

The next two games are absolutely must-wins for the Broncos, who have dropped in offensive production considerably in the last four games. They should get a huge boost from Scheffler, Stokley, Young, and rookie runner Ryan Torain.

The key to victory for Denver is limiting turnovers. The pass defense has been decent (when Champ Bailey isn't hurt), ranking eighth in the NFL with 17 sacks.

The Broncos need this bye week as much as they need a Saints win on Sunday.