2014 Broncos Season, Week 11

The NFL is hitting the home stretch, and Sundays game showed the Broncos still have a lot of work to do.

Week 11: St. Louis Rams 22, Broncos 7
Season Record: 7-3 (5-0 Home)
Key Play: Early in the first quarter, with the Rams dominating game flow and time of possession up 3-0, quarterback Shaun Hill connected with wide receiver Kenny Britt on a 63-yard touchdown strike to make it 10-0 with 1:10 left in the first quarter. The Rams continued to dominate the entire game.

Recap: Week 11 was a bad time for a lot of teams, but perhaps none more so than the Denver Broncos. The Broncos have been 13-3 and the top seed in the AFC each of the last two seasons. With six games left, it feels like that dream is all but gone. Worse yet, this is a Bronco team with major flaws that it doesn't seem able to overcome and the injuries are starting to pile up. In short, it was hard not to leave Sunday's game feeling like the Broncos could be in real trouble. Now, granted, the Rams have been one of the toughest teams for contenders to play. They nearly beat the Cowboys and Eagles earlier this season, and the Rams did record wins over the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. This is a talented team with a tough defense. But the Broncos could have — and arguably should have — beaten the Rams. But Peyton Manning continues to struggle, playing another poor game. The Broncos are having trouble blocking, too, and appear to be a very marginal road team. The Broncos are 5-0 at home this season, but they are 2-3 on the road. On this latest three game road trip, the team finished 1-2. That's not good. And the Broncos have lost serious ground to the New England Patriots in the race for the AFC's top spot, as the Pats are 8-2 and own the tie-breaker, while seeing the Kansas City Chiefs come back to tie Denver for the best record in the AFC West. That sets up the November 30 showdown between the Chiefs and Broncos at Arrowhead as a must win game if the Broncos hope to win their division. Worse yet, Manning's sloppy passing accuracy Sunday led to a number of receivers taking big hits and several being knocked out of the game. That won't help the team's prospects as they return home to play a Miami Dolphins team that's gunning for the playoffs and boasts a stout pass rush. The Broncos need to get things cleaned up in a hurry.

Game Balls:
* Demarcus Ware and Von Miller. The Broncos' pass rush duo continues to shine, as each recorded a sack on Sunday. Denver's defense played reasonably well, though they struggled to contain the Rams running game.

* Emmanuel Sanders. The Broncos best big-play threat went off again, serving as the lone offensive bright spot with his 42-yard touchdown reception to end the first half.

Lingering Concerns:
* The offensive line. The Broncos continue to shuffle personnel to try and get a better result, and it continues to fail. The lineman seem confused, are missing assignments, struggling to open holes, and getting a lot of penalties. This MUST be cleaned up, and quickly.

* Third down defense. Far too often the Broncos defense holds to third down, particularly third and long, only to get beat for a first down. This is a problem that gives other teams chances, and Denver needs to get it cleaned up.

* Running the ball. The Broncos haven't been able to run well the past few games, and with Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball injured, it's a thin group. C.J. Anderson needs to be the spark to ignite the offense and get the Broncos running again. The team needs balance.

* Injuries are mounting. Julius Thomas, Montee Ball, and Emmanuel Sanders left the game with injuries. Ball is feared out a couple weeks, but hopefully Sanders and Thomas can return. The Broncos need their weapons because they're getting awfully thin out there.