Denver Broncos: RIP on 2018 Season With 30-23 Loss to Kansas City

We asked the Broncos to look past the distractions.

Last week saw the infamous Chad Kelly situation.  History has seen emotions play a huge part in the Denver rivalry with the Chiefs.

Denver Broncos

On Sunday, the Broncos failed to contain themselves emotionally racking up 10 penalties for 83 yards.  Included was a Bradley Roby pass interference that allowed KC to convert a second-and-19. Emmanuel Sanders was flagged for the second consecutive week on an inexplicable play.  We know Sanders likes to play with fire and emotion but letting that boil into penalties is counter-productive.

It’s particularly mind-numbing considering how much the Broncos needed a win on Sunday and how well they’d have had to play to secure that victory.  All t’s crossed, all i’s dotted, surely not too much to ask of professional players.

The crazy thing is, the Broncos didn’t seem unfocused, it appeared the Kelly antics had little impact.  What it feels more and more like is this is a team of mismatched players.  There’s talent, to be sure but is it complimentary talent?

For example, the dynamic from offensive line to quarterback and then to backs and receivers has seemed off all season.  The backs, measured independent of team performance are having a fantastic year and continue to lead the NFL in yards-per-carry.  That statistic relies on blocking from the offensive line and downfield blocking from receivers.  Those three facets of the Denver offense seem in-sync.  O-line to QB and QB to backs and receivers not-so-much.  We’ll talk more later about Case Keenum and his performance but first let’s look at our second point: