Broncos Mailbag Part 2: The Playoffs

Here is the second installment of the Broncos season-ending mailbag with a focus on the playoff loss to the Colts in the Divisional Round...

How surprised were you by the loss to the Colts?
I was mildly surprised by the loss. I thought going in to the game that Denver would win. I thought they were the better team, and I thought Andrew Luck was the only thing that could beat them. Luck played well, but he wasn't the reason why they lost. Simply put, the Broncos didn't show up. They lacked fire, they got out-coached and out-played, and Peyton Manning's injury was worse than we all thought or hoped it was. They never should have lost this game, but when you play as badly or as uninspired as they did, then it isn't a surprise they got beat. I had a little bit of a bad feeling because it just didn't seem like the Broncos were confident heading into the playoffs. They didn't have that same feeling as they had in 2013 or even in 2012, so the loss wasn't as surprising as the loss to the Jags in 1996.

Where does this defeat rank in the history of Broncos playoff losses?
On paper, it is up there, but when you look at the game and at the season, it isn't worse than the Super Bowl losses, the '96 defeat to the Jaguars, or the 2012 loss to the Ravens. There was a fear that this Broncos team didn't have it this year, and those fears were easily confirmed by the result of this game. It stings but when you see a 38 year old Peyton Manning playing like a 50 year old, then you are resolved to the fact that it just wasn't their day.

Is there anything about this game that will bother you all offseason?
The fact that the Broncos coaches did such an awful job of coaching in this game is what will really bother me. John Fox had leaked reports the day of the game that he wanted out of Denver if they lost, so that makes me really angry. Jack Del Rio made no adjustments on defense, and his game plan was awful. Del Rio looked like he was coaching with his other foot out of the door heading to Oakland, and Adam Gase did an awful job calling this game. The running game was actually effective in the first half, and Gase went away from it. It was obvious to everyone that Manning was not effective in this game, and he looked shot, so why didn't Gase just go with the run game from that point on? I'll never understand that. I watched the game twice since the season ended, and I'll never understand why Gase just didn't stick with the run game. It's a sin that they lost, and the coaches deserve just as much of the blame as the players.

What was worse: The offense or the defense?
Both were equally bad. The Broncos were 8-0 at home this year, and they only scored 13 points against the Colts. At home. In a playoff game. That is pretty bad. The defense couldn't get the big stops all game long, and the game plan was horrible and they never adjusted. At 21-13, they needed a stop, and they let the Colts march right down the field, take time off the clock, and kick the game-clinching field goal to make it 24-13. You can't do that if you are supposed to be a championship-caliber defense. Both sides of the ball no-showed at the worst time of the season.

If they had beat the Colts, do you think Denver would have had a chance against the Patriots?
No shot in the world. If Denver went up to Foxborough in the AFC Championship, they would have lost convincingly just like they did up there in November. They wouldn't have gotten blown out 45-7 like the Colts did, but they would not have put up much of a fight-especially with an ailing Manning. In fact, if Baltimore had beaten the Pats, and Denver was hosting them in the AFC Championship, I think Denver would have gotten smoked at home by the Ravens.