PHILADELPHIA — Ball security is job security.
Thatap the saying, explained last week, and those were his marching orders as he took over as the Broncos’ starting quarterback for a second time. The Broncos hoped the small charge would create bigger change and “stabilize” an offense that desperately needed a jump-start.
But a single swap at quarterback couldn’t correct the Broncos’ long laundry list of problems, especially not against the NFL’s top team with an MVP candidate, Carson Wentz, at quarterback.
The Broncos again beat themselves Sunday, racking up 14 penalties and accruing mistake after mistake after mistake in all three phases while losing to the Eagles 51-23.
The loss was the Broncos’ fourth consecutive since the Week 5 bye, the longest losing streak since joined the front office in 2011, and it set them back to 3-5 in a season that seems long gone.
Blame for this one was shared by all, but primarily by a unit that has been the franchise’s leader for two years running. The Broncos’ offense was again a bumbling mess, their special teams were again spotty (at best), their coaching was again questionable. But it was their defense that took the biggest hits: 419 yards (197 rushing), seven touchdowns and 51 points allowed, the most by an opponent since 2010.
“It starts with me,” coach said. “I’m the head coach here, so it starts with me. I’ve got to fix this.”
Osweiler, who was intercepted twice and nearly picked off three other times, was sacked three times, and completed only 19 of 38 passes for one touchdown and a 53.4 passer rating. After his second interception, in the third quarter, Osweiler’s rating dipped as low as 15.7, encapsulating the latest wreckage.
“I thought Brock did a fine job. Brock had a great week,” he said. “I was proud of the week he had. Obviously we had two more interceptions today. That I don’t like. But I have to go back and watch the tape and get a feel for how Brock played.”
Asked whether Osweiler will retain his starting job heading into a home game against New England, Joseph said “we’ll see,” reiterating that he wants to review the tape before making the final call. But when asked whether he felt his players checked out before the final whistle, Joseph insinuated much more.
“I told the team after the football game that every man has to do a self-check,” Joseph said. “Only each man would know what his heart said to him in the fourth quarter there, so thatap where I’ll leave that.”
If there was a glimmer of hope for Denver, it lasted all of five minutes in the first quarter, as Denver scored a quick three points on their opening possession to mark the first time it had scored out of the gate since Week 2. Kicker Brandon McManus drilled a 52-yard field goal, giving the defense a cushion — albeit a small one — against Wentz, Philadelphia’s second-year quarterback.
But that lead was short-lived and a new tone — a stronger tone — was set by the Eagles. Philadelphia scored on its first drive, a seven-play sequence that ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery.
Philadelphia entered the game having outscored its opponents 47-9 in the first quarter, the best differential in the NFL. And the Broncos would become its latest victim.
By halftime, the Eagles totaled 31 points while the Broncos had yet to score a touchdown.
Wentz, meanwhile, continued to build upon his MVP-worthy season, completing 15-of-27 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns for a rating of 118.7 before Philadelphia put in backup .
“They run this college offense,” Broncos cornerback said. “They kind of run what the Chiefs do. They got an option to run, an option to pass. They run the read option, (Wentz’s) checking to a lot of things. It’s a college offense and he’s just executing it very good.”
Before they arrived in Philadelphia, the Broncos face stacked odds in numbers alone — many numbers, in fact, from the Eagles’ league-leading record (now 8-1), to the video-game stats of their quarterback, to the stifling play of their top rushing defense. If there was an opening for the Broncos’ defense to capitalize, it came via Zach Ertz, Philadelphia’s tight end and leading receiver who was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Denver has struggled to contain tight ends this season, but Ertz’s absence made little difference. Backups Trey Burton and had no problem filling the void, combining for 80 yards and a touchdown.
The Broncos, meanwhile, struggled to muster 226 total yards, with a season-low 35 yards rushing. Passes were dropped, tackles were missed and miscommunication was evident from start to finish.
The problems started early, just as they had in the previous three losses. The Broncos’ deficit spiraled into chaos as they amassed five penalties, rushed multiple times for zero or negative yardage, and Osweiler threw an early pick in the first quarter alone. At one point in the second, Denver had more penalties (eight) than points (six) and the same number of penalty yards (65) as total yards.
“We’re not a great football team right now, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a great football team within us,” outside linebacker said. “We have all the pieces in place from top down. But today, we were not a good football team — offensively, defensively, special teams, whatever. We’re just not good right now. But the positive thing going forward today is, we still have a lot of time.”
The final dagger came early too, when the Broncos trailed by 18 late in the second quarter. Osweiler found Demaryius Thomas for a 12-yard strike and running back C.J. Anderson got them to Philadelphia’s 4-yard line. But after another negative run and incompletion by Emmanuel Sanders, Denver was forced to settle for a field goal when it desperately needed a touchdown to stay in it.
“I think coach put us in good positions all night to make plays. … But once again, thatap football,” Osweiler said. “Itap easy to second-guess yourself after the play’s happened. But we just got to clean it up. Philadelphia is too good of a football team. When you get into their territory, you have to find ways to score touchdowns. You’re not got going to beat a team like that on the road by kicking field goals and punting the football all day.”
The game was gone by then. The Broncos’ season might have ended too, though they made a couple of last-gasp attempts to make the final score respectable.
Osweiler connected with Thomas for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The score was Thomas’ first since Nov. 13, 2016, and ended a 13-game touchdown drought for the wide receiver. Less than two minutes later, Miller strip-sacked Foles; linebacker recovered the fumble and ran it back 19 yards for a touchdown.
The two scores softened the blow but couldn’t erase the damage.
“I think every man has to look themselves in the mirror, including me, and say, ‘Look, what can I do better? What am I not doing good enough? How can I improve? What technique can I play better?’ ” Marshall said. “We just have to do more, man. I don’t think anybody could have thought they played well today. I don’t feel I played any good at all, actually. We just got to do more. Do more, find that something deep down inside of us and just fight.”
And lest anyone thought the Eagles were going to end it quietly, wide receiver Nelson Algholor caught a 35-pass against Harris to set up the Eagles’ seventh touchdown, by running back Corey Clement.
“The same stuff the past three or four weeks,” Thomas said. “You can’t win football games in this league like that, as you saw today. … I say this every week: We have to do some work and we have to figure out who wants to play and who doesn’t want to play now. There was effort, but if we wouldn’t have had those turnovers, who knows what could’ve happened. We have some things to do, but like every week for the past four weeks I’ve been saying the same thing: We can’t beat ourselves.”
When Joseph decided to bench quarterback in favor of Osweiler last week, he admitted one position change wasn’t the answer to the team’s myriad troubles. He simply hoped for a rejuvenation of sorts, and a return to the basics — catching the ball, securing the ball and finding the end zone.
Instead he got many more questions that need answering and fewer tricks to try to turn things around before the Patriots arrive in Denver.
“What do we try next? To coach better and play better,” Joseph said. “… It’s eight games in and we’re halfway. We’ve got to coach better and play better. It starts with me.”
