The 6:04 mark in the third quarter served as a good representation of the offensive struggles Denver had for the majority of its 26-23 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday evening.
On first down, quarterback Russell Wilson’s screen pass to running back Javonte Williams resulted in a 3-yard loss. On the following play, Wilson was pressured before he threw an incomplete pass to wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. With the Broncos facing a third-and-12, Patriots defensive lineman Christian Barmore pushed away Denver right guard Quinn Meinerz before recording his third sack of the game.
The Broncos are in the final two weeks of the season and still searching for consistency on offense. In the last two games, Denver has scored only seven points in the first half. Against the Patriots, the Broncos had one of their worst third-quarter performances, as they were held to -13 total yards on offense and went 0-for-4 on third down.
“Right now, we’re average to below average in a lot of things offensively, and it’s not good enough,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said in Tuesday’s conference call.
Payton believes Denver’s struggles stem from self-inflicted woes. During the Broncos’ five-game win streak, it committed three turnovers. Since then, they have had seven turnovers in the last four games while sporting a 1-3 record.
Against New England, Denver committed two turnovers despite fumbling the ball four times.
“The (ball) is out all the time now. We’re lucky we only had two turnovers (against New England),” Payton said.
But Denver’s issues are more than just turnovers. The Broncos didn’t receive any help from their run game for the second straight week, totaling 83 rushing yards while averaging 3.6 yards per carry in the loss to New England.
Meanwhile, the Broncos’ third down offense continues to be problematic, as they have gone a combined 9-for-26 in those situations in the last two games.
Payton believes the team’s communication needs to improve, an issue he talked about earlier in the season. After the Patriots sacked Wilson five times, starting right tackle Mike McGlinchey said the team’s protection and execution have to be better.
“It wasn’t good enough as a group (and) for myself. It’s all got to be better,” McGlinchey said.
To the Broncos’ credit, they have had their moments on offense this season, especially in the fourth quarter on Sunday night. Down 23-7, the Broncos picked up their tempo and scored 16 unanswered to tie the game with under three minutes to go in regulation.
Denver converted nine first downs and went 3-for-5 on third down. Wilson was solid, completing 11 of 18 pass attempts for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
However, Payton thinks the Broncos’ performance in the fourth would be hard to translate in future games simply because they played with an empty backfield formation quite a bit in the quarter, and it’s difficult to play that way for an entire game.
“It’s hard to say you’re going to make a living that way as your base offense,” Payton said.
Payton said he doesn’t need to remind his team about its current standing in the AFC playoff race — Denver is in 12th place with a 7-8 record and has a less than 10% chance of playing postseason football.
For Payton, his message for this week is geared toward beating the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in the last home game of the season at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium, where Denver has a 4-4 record.
“We haven’t played well at home, or at least to the expectations certainly from Broncos fans and then from my experience of playing at home,” Payton said. “This is our last opportunity to play a home game, and (the message is) going to be about getting this win.”
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