2017 Broncos' Season, Week 8

Ugh, Broncos...

Week 8: Kansas City Chiefs 29, Broncos 19
Season Record: 3-4 (3-1 Home)
Key Play: In the first quarter, with Jamaal Charles carrying the ball, he fumbled and it was recovered by Marcus Peters, who returned it for a touchdown to make it 7-0 Kansas City. The Broncos never recovered, as the Chiefs ran away with the game.

Recap: Let's talk about Trevor Siemian for a minute. I felt, like most of us did, that he had a good first season. He wasn't great or perfect, but he was far from the only problem for the Broncos. And he clearly looked like the best option in training camp, and that was confirmed in the first two weeks of the season, when Denver started out 2-0 and Siemian appeared to be really growing into the position. But that has quickly faded. The Broncos are 1-4 since, and the offense has been beyond anemic. Denver scored just 10 points in a loss to the Giants, got shut out in Los Angeles against the Chargers, and looked awful, turning the ball over five times in a loss to the Chiefs. Set aside the 19 points for a minute, because much of that game in garbage time when it didn't matter. Siemian tossed three interceptions, and went for less than 200 yards. He was 5-for-14 with two interceptions in the first half. That's not gonna cut it. I am one of the fiercest Siemian defenders, and there are plenty of problems on offense, but he is killing the Broncos. His decision making is poor, and his accuracy is slipping. I would put a lot of blame on the offensive line, which has been a rotation of ineffective players. And I'd put a lot of blame on coaching. The jury is still out on Vance Joseph (though I thought he was the wrong hire and wouldn't be sorry to see him go), but Mike McCoy and Bill Musgrave have delivered an offense that's worse than last year. That's a problem. And then an equal share of blame has to go to John Elway, who is the architect of this mess. He didn't address the problems with the line in the off-season sufficiently, and he brought in this coaching staff that can't seem to make lemonade out of the players he's assembled on offense. I still think this team has enough talent, particularly on defense, to be a playoff team. But they haven't shown it. Some fans have long thought it doesn't matter who the quarterback is or what plays we run on offense because our defense is good enough to carry us to the playoffs. That wasn't the case in 2016, and it's quickly proving not to be the case in 2017. Unless something changes drastically this week or next, the Broncos are likely to hit mid-November at 3-6 and staring into a long holiday season followed by an off-season of tumult, change, and questions. And that 3-1 start feels like a distant memory.

Game Balls:
* Broncos' Rush Defense. Last year, our run defense was a rumor. This season, Derek Wolfe, Domata Peko and Adam Gotsis have formed a formidable group that squashes all comers. That includes holding Kareem Hunt to 46 yards last night on 22 carries.
* Broncos' Running Backs. Despite a suspect line and suspect play calling, these guys are working. C.J. Anderson ground out 78 hard yards on 15 carries, while Devontae Booker added 40 yards and a TD on six carries. Whatever ways we were "in" the game were thanks to our backs.

Lingering Concerns:
* Quarterback. I detailed this above, but we need a spark. It might be time to look at Brock Osweiler or Paxton Lynch.
* Offensive Line. This has been and continues to be a problem. Outside of Matt Paradis, where is the consistency.
* Special Teams. They haven't been that special. One of those turnovers was on a muffed punt, too.
* Coaching. It would be nice to have some.
* Safeties. Every big play that happens, I see Justin Simmons, Darian Stewart or Will Parks trailing the play. That's discouraging.