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Since opening the play with a red-hot 3-0 start, the Broncos person since sank to the bottommost of the AFC West with a 4-9 grounds and a sixth consecutive play missing the playoffs.
What’s gone wrong? Plenty — the latest being the tally crippled wherever Denver has fallen from ninth to 14th successful the NFL successful rushing yards per crippled successful the past 2 weeks.
“We’ve got to beryllium better, hands down,” a frustrated Melvin Gordon said Tuesday of the team’s slumping offense. “We’re excessively talented.”
What’s next? Hosting the Kansas City Chiefs successful a uncommon Saturday crippled astatine 2:30 p.m. astatine Empower Field astatine Mile High. Then it’s to the offseason with plentifulness of questions.
Here’s a look astatine however assorted nationalist experts rated the Broncos successful their powerfulness rankings entering Week 18:
Bleacher Report (No. 24) | Last week: No. 24
“Given that agelong playoff drought, it’s apt that immoderate large changes are coming successful the offseason. Vic Fangio’s aboriginal arsenic caput manager is thing but certain, and neither Teddy Bridgewater nor Drew Lock has inspired immoderate assurance arsenic a semipermanent solution astatine quarterback.” See the afloat rankings.
CBS Sports (No. 19) | Last week: No. 19
“They are retired of the playoffs, which means it could beryllium the extremity for manager Vic Fangio. Three seasons without the playoffs usually means that’s the case,” Pete Prisco writes. See the afloat rankings.
ESPN (No. 21) | Last week: No. 21
“The Broncos person started 10 antithetic quarterbacks, arsenic good arsenic moving backmost Phillip Lindsay, down halfway since 2016. But this team’s troubles with the shot spell acold deeper than its quarterback. The Broncos person refused implicit overmuch of the past 4 seasons to lucifer their violative strategy to the unit they person drafted oregon signed. They person breached 2 basal tenets of discourtesy — they routinely telephone what they can’t block, and if their ain defence was asked ‘is your discourtesy hard to defend,’ the reply would beryllium ‘no.’ Yes, effort with each assets they person to go 1 of the league’s astir fortunate teams with a semipermanent reply astatine quarterback, but adjacent the champion enactment astatine backmost volition conflict if they can’t lucifer a playbook to the squad that is really successful the huddle,” Jeff Legwold writes. See the afloat rankings.
NFL.com (No. 25) | Last week: No. 23
“The Broncos were not acceptable up good to vie connected Sunday against the Chargers. Vic Fangio’s squad was missing 5 antiaircraft starters, arsenic good arsenic backmost Teddy Bridgewater and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. The predictable 34-13 nonaccomplishment clinched a 5th consecutive losing play for the Broncos, who person not returned to the playoffs since their triumph successful Super Bowl 50. The squad volition participate the offseason with uncertainty astatine the astir captious sectors of an organization: astatine caput coach, astatine quarterback, successful ownership,” Dan Hanzus writes. See the afloat rankings.
Sporting News (No. 23) | Last week: No. 23
“The Broncos wasted a blistery commencement that was based connected their beardown defence and moving crippled due to the fact that of incompetent backmost play squandering the imaginable of a promising passing game. Vic Fangio’s old-school attack conscionable hasn’t worked,” Vinnie Iyer writes. See the afloat rankings.
Sports Illustrated (No. 21) | Last week: No. 22
“The Broncos played good considering they opted to walk connected a steadfast backmost determination this past offseason. While the program was to anticipation Vic Fangio’s defence could drawback occurrence and flooded replacement level play, Denver could not yet basal up to a hellish division. They volition beryllium viewed arsenic a imaginable caput coaching destination this offseason if they opt to marque a alteration and a apical landing spot for prospective quarterbacks hoping to onshore with a bully violative enactment and prima studded defense,” Conor Orr writes. See the afloat rankings (subscription).
USA Today (No. 22) | Last week: No. 22
“Time to look to the aboriginal … and wonderment however overmuch longer QBs Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock volition beryllium portion of it,” Nate Davis writes. See the afloat rankings.
Yahoo Sports (No. 22) | Last week: No. 22
“I don’t spot wherefore the Broncos would bring backmost Vic Fangio aft this mediocre decorativeness to different losing season, but I’m besides not definite the Broncos are going to bash overmuch better. This has go a low-key unattractive imaginable occupation opening owed to ownership and backmost issues,” Frank Schwab writes. See the afloat rankings.
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