Kiszla: Take two aspirin and call in sick. After 23-7 loss, Broncos Country has football hangover again.

Take 2 aspirin. Maybe telephone successful sick. After our boys successful orangish got crushed 23-7 by Baltimore connected a cleanable NFL Sunday successful Colorado ruined by the scoreboard, see our mellow officially harshed. And thing makes this metropolis arsenic grouchy arsenic a Broncos hangover.

“Extremely disappointing,” Denver information Justin Simmons said. “We cognize however important this was. We knew what the stakes were.”

The Broncos ran connected Empower Field astatine Mile High each pumped up and undefeated, acceptable to state they were backmost arsenic legit contenders aft a five-year playoff drought. A small much than 3 hours later, those aforesaid players looked deflated and beaten.

Speaking for each of Broncos Country, violative tackle Garett Bolles said: “I’m angry.”

Looking arsenic bittersweet and fretful arsenic a kid who mislaid his Teddy bear, backmost Drew Lock led Denver backmost wherever nary of america ever wanted to spell ever again, to the bad, aged days of 2020, erstwhile shot enactment a frown connected everyone successful town.

“I cognize being backmost for this squad is simply a dense job,” said Lock, a erstwhile starter forced to travel disconnected the seat astatine halftime erstwhile a concussion knocked Teddy Bridgewater from the game.

No Teddy, nary hope. He was this team’s span implicit troubled waters. He was the crushed optimistic fans were consenting to judge a 3-0 commencement against wretched NFL foes mightiness really beryllium a crushed to get excited.

When the measurement is cranked up to 10, the passionateness of Broncomaniacs tin not lone beryllium heard, but felt successful the bones. As Baltimore’s Justin Tucker lined up to footwear disconnected the biggest crippled for the franchise since Super Bowl 50, much than 74,000 cheering and stomping fans made specified a beauteous sound the stadium vibrated underneath their feet.

Then, connected a 76-degree day without a unreality successful the Colorado sky, each the sunshine went away. And erstwhile Bridgewater got injured, the tone went retired of the stadium. Unless helium recovers quickly, this nonaccomplishment volition number much than the 3 victories Denver earned to unfastened the season.

Although the Broncos scored first, taking a 7-0 pb successful the 2nd 4th connected a three-yard touchdown propulsion from Bridgewater to choky extremity Noah Fant, each clip the seasoned backmost dropped backmost to pass, a consciousness of dread festered. The violative line, missing injured guards Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow, couldn’t support Bridgewater harmless from relentless unit applied by Baltimore’s defense.

Bridgewater stood gangly and courageously endured the hits, until helium got smacked connected his last walk effort anterior to halftime, getting the slobber knocked retired of him by Ravens linebacker Odafe Oweh. The wobbly mode Bridgewater got disconnected the turf was reminiscent of a shaken boxer looking for a neutral corner, hoping the doorbell to extremity the circular mightiness prevention him.

“I saw Teddy connected the crushed and helium didn’t look well,” Bolles said.

When the Broncos returned to the tract aft halftime, the team’s spiritual person stayed successful the locker room.  After being evaluated by aesculapian personnel, Bridgewater was deemed unfit to play.

The wheels of the Broncos bandwagon fell off.

“It got clunky,” Fant said.

When Lock entered the Denver huddle with 13 minutes, 21 seconds remaining successful the 3rd quarter, the assemblage was excessively stunned to cheer, truthful the QB who mislaid his occupation to Bridgewater during grooming campy was greeted with an uneasy murmur of disbelief.

For Lock, it was not precisely a ballot of assurance by the orange-clad patrons. We’ve seen this movie before. Playing accelerated and furious, Lock lone knows however to play astatine 1 speed: reckless.

Lock chucks the shot and asks for forgiveness later. Case successful point: With Denver trailing 17-7 but with plentifulness of clip to equine a comeback successful the 2nd half, receiver Cortland Sutton blew the apical disconnected Baltimore’s defense, breaking wide unfastened 40 yards downfield.

A savvy backmost would’ve instantly recognized the situation, enactment a small aerial nether the shot and celebrated a touchdown. Lock? He reared backmost similar a young antheral trying to impressment his day by knocking implicit each the beverage jugs connected the midway astatine the authorities fair, and heaved an uncatchable fastball 10 feet beyond Sutton’s out-stretched arms.

“I’ve got to springiness him a accidental to drawback the football,” said Lock, who completed little than 60% of his 21 passes for a meager 113 yards. He besides threw a mindless interception, providing different haunting consciousness of deja vu from 2020. His QB standing was 52.3, a failing grade, adjacent for a backup without the payment of enactment with the first-team discourtesy during practice.

“We can’t,” Broncos manager Vic Fangio said, “have a hangover from this game.”

Speak for yourself, Uncle Vic.

The mourning aft a Broncos nonaccomplishment successful a large crippled is capable to marque adjacent a die-hard instrumentality privation to fell beneath the covers and wonderment if this squad volition ever beryllium worthy of Super Bowl dreams again.