DETROIT — The Broncos hoped to prove themselves road warriors in the Motor City.
Instead, road kill.
Sean Payton’s team, playing its third straight December game away from home, ran out of gas in the first half Saturday night and watched the Lions roll on by, clear into the postseason.
The Broncos have a lot of work to do in order to reach the same destination after a 42-17 loss here.
They’re going to have to find offensive consistency, which has disappeared in recent weeks.
They’re going to have to find better ways to combat speed, which the Lions flashed in spades.
Put simply, they’re going to have to win their final three games from 7-7.
That’s not impossible by any stretch of the imagination, considering they will come against teams with losing records, back-up quarterbacks and little to play for.
But the margin for error is now reduced to zero.
“We’ve got three more games to go and if we win those three I think we’ll be in pretty good position,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “Obviously not a lot of room for error these next three weeks, but if we take care of business the way we’re capable of … I’m confident we can get this done.”
Jared Goff sliced the rest of it away with the same precision that he carved up the middle of the Broncos defense over and over and over on his home field.
The Lions quarterback threw touchdown passes on four consecutive possessions in the middle of the game, turning what started as a slugfest into a track meet.
The plodding Broncos had little hope of keeping pace, even after a staunch defensive start to the night.
Vance Joseph’s defense started by forcing three straight punts, a lift after Payton’s offense blew a golden opportunity to score first when Russell Wilson fumbled at Detroit’s 20-yard line.
That was the start of a hapless offensive first half for the Broncos. They gained just 75 net yards and 63 of them came on the first play and a scramble-drill completion to Courtland Sutton. The rest: 12 net yards on 24 snaps.
After the fumble, Denver punted on their next four drives and mustered just two total first downs the rest of the first half.
Compounding the problem: Three of their five first-half possessions lasted 1 minute, 33 seconds or less.
That left the Broncos defense on the field for more than 18 minutes in the opening half. Once the Lions broke through, they poured it on.
They racked up 279 yards and 17 first downs to the Broncos’ 75 and four, respectively.
“We can kind of prove the type of team we are,” inside linebacker Alex Singleton said in the lead-up to the game. “That’s why they moved the game to prime time and all of that stuff. It’s a good opportunity for us to go out and kind of prove the team we are right now.”
On this night, the Broncos were a team that couldn’t slow down Goff, who took whatever he wanted in the middle of Denver’s defense with play-action passing.
“First and second down, they’re a good CFL team,” Payton said. “Most of your top offenses are really good on the first two downs, so it’s hard to get them to third down. They had quite a bit of chunk plays. Listen, it’s a good offense and we struggled with it tonight.”
By the time Goff surveyed the Broncos defense late in the half, checked into the play he wanted and hit a wide open Amon Ra St. Brown for his third touchdown pass of the night and a 21-0 halftime lead, the game felt almost entirely in hand.
Denver did respond with a pair of third-quarter scoring drives, but the Lions ripped down the field after each, extending the lead rather than allowing the Broncos to feel like they had a chance to close the gap.
Payton’s frustration boiled over with the Broncos knocking on the door late in the third quarter. Denver nearly scored on three straight plays, but was ruled short of the goal line twice and then had right guard Quinn Meinerz called offside on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Payton didn’t challenge either of the first two plays, then screamed at the officiating crew, sent his field goal unit out and chewed out Wilson on the sideline.
Payton after the game insisted he was mad about the penalty call on Meinerz and added, “What I talk with Russell about is none of your business.”
After a Wil Lutz field goal to make the Lions’ lead 18, Detroit waltzed right down the field for its fifth consecutive touchdown and a 35-10 lead. Goff finished with five touchdown passes on the night, completing 24 of 34 passes for 278 yards and no interceptions.
“In the NFL sometimes you just get your (butt) kicked, and tonight was one of those nights,” McGlinchey said.
Whether the game had finished in a blowout or a more modest loss, the Broncos’ AFC West championship conversation, practically speaking, is finished. Unless Kansas City completely folds against a soft schedule down the stretch, the Broncos’ playoff hopes are currently slopping around in a muddy wild card race featuring a half dozen teams or more.
In a way, the conversation is even simpler now. They must win their final three — Christmas Eve against New England, New Years Eve day against the Los Angeles Chargers and the first weekend of January at Las Vegas — to get to 10 wins and hope that’s enough. It probably would be.
The Broncos, though, squandered any chance they had at putting their fate entirely in their own hands. They’ll be facing three teams with back-up quarterbacks playing and two working under interim coaches, but more importantly they’ll have to re-discover something with some sustainability offensively.
If they do, there is possibility aplenty ahead. If they don’t, Saturday night won’t be the only opportunity squandered.
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