Broncos Get Stampeded by Bills on Christmas Eve

The Broncos did not give me the Christmas gift that I wanted because they were absolutely embarrassed at the hands of the Buffalo Bills on Christmas Eve in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills buried the Broncos 40-14, and Denver now finds themselves at 8-7 and in a tie with the Raiders for the AFC West lead. The Broncos host Kansas City in Week 17, and if they win, then they are in the playoffs as the AFC West winners. It is pretty much win and in for the Broncos. There is a scenario that is possible for the Broncos to lose and make it as AFC West winners, but that would require an Oakland loss at home vs. San Diego. Before we get to the finality of the season for the Broncos, we need to look back at Saturday's terrible loss against Buffalo.

The one thing that scared me about this game was the fact that all Denver needed to do to win the West was to win Week 17 at home against Kansas City. The Buffalo game was not a win and your in scenario. That bothered me all week long. I posted in my picks column that I could see Denver playing poorly and basically saying "Fuck it, this sucks we'll just go for the division title next week at home." That is how certain parts of this game felt. The game started perfect for the Broncos after Tim Tebow scored on a 1 yard run to finish off a 73 yard drive to give them a 7-0 lead. After two Bills drives ended with two missed field goals, things were looking good for Denver. After another three and out by the Broncos, the Bills drove down and got a field goal to make it 7-3. It felt like the game was starting to turn and sure enough they got the break in the game they needed. Leodis McKelvin took a punt 80 yards for a touchdown to give the Bills a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, and they never looked back. A C.J. Spiller touchdown run gave the Bills a 17-7 lead at the halftime. Spiller gashed the Broncos for over 111 yards rushing, and he had big runs all day long. Tebow led a third quarter touchdown drive, and he capped it off with a touchdown pass to Daniel Fells. The Bills now only led 17-14 in the third quarter, and many Broncos fans-including myself- felt that they were in good shape to make a comeback. Unfortunately, the comeback was not meant to be. The Bills got two more field goals to make it 23-14 late in the third quarter. At that point in the game, Tebow really looked like a young QB in the heat of the moment, and he started to force some throws. Tebow overthrew Demaryius Thomas late in the third quarter for a key interception by Jairus Byrd. The pick led to another field good and the Bills led 26-14 going into the fourth quarter. Tebow and the Broncos were backed up at their own 10, and Tebow made a bad throw trying to hit Eric Decker, and another Byrd interception and return gave the Bills a 33-14 lead. The bottom fell out the next play when Tebow was sacked and the ball flipped in the air, and Spencer Johnson picked it out of the air and returned that for a touchdown. Talk about a meltdown and next thing you know it is 40-14 Buffalo. The Broncos were bad in all three phases, and Tebow actually melted down the last quarter. It was a humbling game for everyone involved in Denver, and after winning six straight now the Broncos have dropped two in a row. Here are some of my thoughts and observations about the game..........

1) Tebow played pretty well until his fourth quarter collapse. His interceptions and mistakes were bad, and he really looked like he was pressing and trying to do too much. You can't go too crazy about the game because it wasn't all his fault, but hopefully he learns from this and gets better and uses this game as motivation for a better effort next week.

2) The Broncos defense has not played well in three out of their last four games. They were gashed by Spiller all day on the ground, and Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to get some timely throws to Stevie Johnson and David Nelson. The Broncos got no pressure at all, and the Broncos gave up too many big plays on every drive the Bills scored. This defense is not the same one that it was a month ago.

3) Von Miller's hand injury is really affecting him. He has been a non-factor the last two weeks, and the cast on his hand is really hurting his game.

4) Rahim Moore might be the worst safety in the league. Once he came in the game, the defense seemed like it fell apart. He misses so many tackles, and he just seems like he is lost out there. His personal foul penalty in the third quarter was a killer.

5) The Broncos offense is very conservative and predictable. It seems like they start the game off with a nice set of plays, and they usually move the ball effectively. Then, the Broncos become so predictable. They seem to run on first down, run on second down, and then put themselves in a third and long, or a third and medium followed by a Tebow run. No wonder why they struggle on third down. Just try to throw the ball a little bit on first down. Their play calling has to improve this week, or the Chiefs defense will eat them up.

6) Once again the Broncos proved that they can't close. Another December loss to a team with a losing record. It doesn't matter who the coach is or who the quarterback is because the Broncos can't win big games late in the season.

7) Denver finishes off the season with a Week 17 showdown against Kyle Orton and the Kansas City Chiefs. If Denver wins, then they finish 9-7 and win the AFC West. This game will be very difficult for the Broncos, and the Orton factor scares the hell out of me. I'll preview this game and all the ramifications at the end of the week.