As they approach Sunday’s regular-season finale in Denver against Kansas City, the Broncos have to determine whether their last two games, each a blowout loss, represent a trend or are just bad days at the office.
Knee-jerk reactions are no way to do business in the NFL, especially when the subject is Tim Tebow. When the Broncos lose, that apparently means Tebow will never be a productive pro quarterback. When the Broncos win, that apparently means Tebow should be battling Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady for league MVP.
The Broncos have committed seven turnovers in their last two games. Denver’s offense has been responsible for six. And the special teams have unraveled.
“You can’t give up touchdowns in all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams — and beat anybody good in this league,” 10-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey said Saturday after the Broncos’ 40-14 loss at Buffalo, a rout that ended the Bills’ seven-game losing streak. “They didn’t have much to play for, but … everybody wants to win no matter what their record is. When they saw the opportunity to win, they took it.”
Denver’s offense is in a rut. Opponents clearly have declared what they want to do defensively against Tebow and the Broncos. Opponents are now playing smart, disciplined defense. The result? Tebow has committed five turnovers and has been sacked five times in Denver’s last two games.
“We were able to make them do what they didn’t want to do,” Bills outside linebacker Chris Kelsay said.
“We made it very simple,” safety George Wilson said.
“(Tebow) locked on to guys,” safety Jairus Byrd said.
That’s what players on the winning team tend to say.
What the Broncos need to do is make adjustments to their blueprint for success. And they had better do it in a hurry.
Jeff Legwold: jlegwold@denverpost.com
