The Broncos offense has evaporated and Denver's playoff chances probably went with it
The Denver Broncos don't ask much from their offense — they want to win with their tremendous defense.
But the Broncos D needs some offense to win games, and right now Trevor Siemian and the Broncos O isn't providing it.
And it's not Siemian's fault, either.
The Broncos only scored three points in their home loss to the Patriots Sunday — the franchise's worst offensive output since the 2011 season.
It's not a one-time deal against a good team, either — this is the second-straight week the Broncos offense has turned in a hapless offensive effort.
The Broncos offense is broken and it doesn't look like it'll be fixed.
If it wasn't for that awesome Orange Crush defense, it might be more obvious that the Broncos' offense is going to keep Denver out of the postseason.
At 8-6, the Broncos will need to play their way into the playoffs by winning their final two games. That might not sound daunting, but they will have to do it against the Chiefs and Raiders — two playoff teams that'll have something to play for on top of their desire to beat a rival.
But the Broncos aren't even close — unless the Denver defense wants to score two defensive touchdowns and hold opponents to one score, Denver's season effectively ended Sunday.
Denver's offensive line has been a problem for most of the year, but it has been particularly atrocious over their past two contests. On Sunday, the Patriots' defensive line — which has struggled to win the line of scrimmage all year and entered Sunday's game with the third-worst adjusted sack rate in the NFL — was living in the Broncos' backfield. The Patriots racked up six tackles for loss, five hurries and four sacks Sunday.
With the terrible offensive line play has come a total shutdown of the Broncos' running game — the backbone of the Gary Kubiak's offensive system. Injuries to running backs have stifled any chance to develop momentum in the Denver run game this year, but there's no excuse for how poor the Broncos' rushing attack has been over the past two weeks.
Denver ran the ball 17 times for 58 yards Sunday — 12 carries and 46 yards came in the first half. Against the Titans in Week 14, the Broncos ran nine times for a grand total of 18 yards.
The Broncos can't run the ball, so they're not even bothering to do it anymore. And while Siemian has looked good since returning from a foot injury, he cannot win a game by himself. Sunday, the Broncos' passing game was highlighted by dropped passes, not Siemian's 282 yards passing.
It all came to a head in the second half — the Broncos went three-and-out on their first five possessions of the half, netting 7 total yards.
That's a performance that wouldn't beat the Browns or Jaguars, much less the Patriots.
Unless Denver can sign a competent offensive line and perhaps a top-flight running back in the next few days, these types of performances should be expected in the final two games of the year — you can't scheme your way out of Denver's problems.
If that comes to pass, the Super Bowl champions will not even get a chance to defend their crown.
Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that it would be Siemian who would be the bright spot for the Broncos' offense and everyone else would be the problem?
