Poor offensive showing, second straight loss put Broncos' playoff chances in peril

The reigning Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos, put themselves in serious jeopardy of defending that title on Sunday, losing at home to the New England Patriots, 16-3.

It was the second straight loss for the Broncos, dropping them to 8-6 and putting them in a three-way tie for seventh place in the AFC with the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans, out of the playoffs. The 9-5 Miami Dolphins hold the second wildcard spot in the conference.

On the other side of the coin, the win gave New England a 12-2 record, its eighth straight AFC East title and the guarantee of a first-round bye.

New England cornerback Logan Ryan, who had a first-half interception, celebrates a second-half tackle. (AP)

The loss was not on Denver’s offense. Tom Brady started the game 0 for 6, not passing for a yard in the first quarter. The Patriots’ special teams pounced on a muffed punt by Jordan Norwood early in the first, and while the offense gained just four yards off the turnover, Stephen Gostkowski converted a 45-yard field goal to put New England on the board. Gostkowski had three field goals on the day.

Brady rebounded, as you’d expect, and went 16 for 26 the rest of the way. Not stellar numbers, but against arguably the best defense in the NFL, it was good enough.

Trevor Siemian and the Broncos got their only points in the first quarter, on their second possession. Over their last 10 drives, they punted seven times, turned the ball over twice (one interception and another fumble by Norwood, this time on the second-to-last play of the game, when he fumbled at the end of a reception), and once when time ran out on the first half.

Denver’s problem was sustaining drives, and was particularly bad in the second half: It was just 2 of 12 on third downs, with both of the conversions coming in the first half (it was 0 for 6 in the second); the Broncos picked up just five (of 15) first downs in the second half; their first 15 plays in the second picked up just nine yards.

“It’s frustrating, no doubt,” Siemian said after the game of the offense’s struggles. “Especially early, when we were moving the ball pretty well and have no points to show for it. A lot of that is on me; I missed a couple of opportunities to get us some points there early on. It comes back to haunt you for sure.”

But it wasn’t all on Siemian: Denver had only 58 yards rushing, with Justin Forsett, claimed just a couple of weeks ago, getting 37 yards on 10 carries.

Denver plays at Kansas City on Christmas Day, then hosts the Oakland Raiders to close out the season. Oakland is 11-3 after its win in San Diego, while Kansas CIty is 10-4 after losing to Tennessee. The Dolphins close in Buffalo and against New England, while the teams Denver is now tied with, the Titans and Ravens, finish with the Jaguars and Texans, and the Steelers and Bengals, respectively.

“We’ve got to beat Kansas City,” Siemian said. “Our team’s got a lot of grit, and I think we’re up for the challenge. Everybody’s already looking forward to next week.”