What's with the Denver Broncos Losing to the "Bad" Teams?

Every Denver fan has been troubled by it this season. Why are the Broncos so inconsistent? It's not just inconsistency, it's this trend of playing terribly when facing some of the league's worst.

So far this year, three of the Broncos' five losses have come to teams with four wins or less. They've lost to the Chiefs, Raiders, and Jaguars. The other two, to New England and Miami, were losses to legitimate contenders.

So, does this mean that the Broncos should really be 10-2, holding the second seed in the AFC? Well, yes, in some ways, but really no. The Broncos lost those three games because they were outplayed by those lowly bottom-feeding teams. But once again, why?

Denver has one of the youngest teams in the league. Of their key offensive players, none of them are over 29, and most of them came out of the '06 draft. This is good for the long-term prospects of the team and also means that the young guys can show a lot of heart and emotion while playing. But sometimes it is also the key factor in bringing them down.

The young guys are still maturing, and they have a good amount of confidence. In each of the three key losses, the team had just come off a big win against a legitimately contending team—the Chargers, Buccaneers, and Falcons. The Broncos players appeared to have completely overlooked those games, expecting to roll right through.

They will say that they didn't. In every press conference when they are asked, they will always say that they prepared just as if it were a playoff game.

I do not doubt that they prepared the same way physically, because Mike Shanahan is a very consistent coach. But mentally they clearly didn't bring the intensity that they brought to the games in which they were underdogs.

In the games in which they were expected to be dominated, they have brought intensity and heart that have won the game, as they proved against the Falcons and Jets.

If this team learns from their previous arrogance and wants to end the criticism and mixed confidence surrounding them, then they desperately need to end the streak this
Sunday at home against Kansas City.

They have proved, however, that they are unfazed by the analysis and predictions that they can most likely beat anyone in the AFC, either at home or on the road if they bring their best game and don't make mistakes or beat themselves.

This team definitely has the potential to go very far into the playoffs. They just need to pull themselves together now and get set for the long haul through December and hopefully January.