By Monday afternoon, the heartbreak film was finished and the mood inside Dove Valley began to lift.
There was no cackling booming from one side of the locker room to the other. But there were some smiles and light-hearted ribbing.
That’s how men are. When it comes to pain, whether from a bruised body or wounded soul, men typically try not to show it.
A day after they were shocked by the Chicago Bears, 37-34 in overtime, the Broncos didn’t really feel like talking about it Monday.
The media made them, anyway.
“Myself, in however many years I’ve played sports, that’s the toughest loss I’ve ever had,” Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler said. “It’s tough to go all that way to Chicago, play as well as we did and not come out with a win. I mean I don’t think you’re going to find many explanations in here today.”
Faster than Devin Hester can return a kick, a team’s season can change. The spirit of the Broncos and all those who follow them was redirected in the final 7 minutes and 25 seconds of regulation against the Bears.
At that point, the Broncos were up 34-20, playing arguably their best combination of offense and defense this season, on their way to winning their third consecutive game. Hold on and they would have maintained a share of the AFC West lead with a 6-5 record. Next up were three winnable games against 3-8 Oakland, 4-7 Kansas City and 5-6 Houston.
Keep the momentum rolling right into a Christmas Eve night meeting with the division co-leaders, the San Diego Chargers. It was all there for the Broncos. And then, poof, the Bears rallied for victory and the Broncos were left to feel like they’ve lost all margin of error.
“When you feel like you have a game won and then you give it back, it sticks with you for a lot of years,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said.
Years? Oakland is up in five days.
“I go back to Seattle a decade ago and it still sticks with me,” Shanahan said of the Broncos’ 31-27 loss in 1995 at Mile High Stadium. “We had a (20)-point lead. Those type of games where you don’t take advantage of an opportunity and you can’t close it out, it’s disappointing, but you have to work through it and get ready for the next week.”
The Broncos’ attitude now is they have to win out to win the AFC West.
“I would say so, yeah,” Shanahan said.
They say this not in a sense of doom-and-gloom desperation, but with the pleasant realization that winning them all means winning the AFC West, regardless of what San Diego does in its other four games.
“Basically, the attitude is we just need to get a five-game winning streak going and bring the playoffs back here,” Marcus Thomas said.
The rookie defensive tackle made it sound so easy. Five-game winning streak? Teams do it all the time, even some bad teams.
“You watch the film, and as of 2 o’clock today, the mood is we’re still in the AFC West hunt,” Scheffler said. “We control our destiny still. To be 5-6 and still be able to do that, you’ve got to look at as a positive.”
More than hope, the Broncos will have to once again display resiliency. They’ve shown it already this season, coming back from their blowout defeats to San Diego and Detroit to win the next game each time.
Nothing is more resilient than youth, and the Broncos have plenty of both. Their quarterback, Jay Cutler, just finished his 16th game. In every way, Cutler is no longer a rookie. His 16-game stats: 3,385 yards, a 62.9 completion percentage, 22 touchdown passes against 15 interceptions. Among the all-time greats, only Dan Marino had a better statistical start.
“For people not to think he’s had a good rookie year, (they) have no clue about football,” Shanahan said after his news conference Monday. “Or have no idea what quarterbacks go through.”
Overcoming a whipping, the Cutler-led Broncos can do. Can they overcome a demoralizing defeat?
“It’s a different kind of hurt,” said Mike Leach, the Broncos’ long-snapper.
“We’ll have a different kind of gut-check in Oakland,” Broncos left tackle Matt Lepsis said.
“I’d rather lose 50-0 than lose a game like that,” said Alvin McKinley, the Broncos’ starting defensive tackle. “Know what I mean? M-a-a-a-n.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
