Broncos Lose to Redskins, Fall to 5-10

The Broncos were defeated by the Redskins on Christmas Eve in Washington on Sunday 27-11, and the lose gave the Broncos their 10th loss on the season. At 5-10, the Broncos are assured a 10 loss season for the first time since 2010, and only the fourth time in my lifetime. This game was a microcosm of basically every loss the Broncos had this year. They played well in the first quarter, then were non-competitive virtually from there. There is nothing else to say at this point. Here are my "Five Points" on the game.....

1) The Broncos actually started well. Their defense shut down Kirk Cousins and the offense got C.J. Anderson going and they took a 3-0 lead early in the game. I don't know if anyone noticed but the Broncos tried that trick play on a punt return where Jordan Taylor moved to his right and acted like the punt was coming to him and Bennie Fowler was running down the left to actually catch it. The Rams pulled this off years ago, but of course Fowler didn't judge the ball right and it bounce and he had to catch it off a bounce and no one on Washington was fooled.

2) Kirk Cousins got hot and showed the Broncos defense and front office what a quality QB can do. He shredded the Broncos from the second quarter on. He threw for 299 yards and 3 TDs. He certainly gave the Broncos an up close look at his talent as we head into free agency this offseason.

3) Brock Osweiler fumbled and Washington converted it into a touchdown from Cousins to Jamison Crowder to make it 10-3. From there, the Broncos were done and looking to mail it in. Another bonehead play by Isaiah McKenzie screwed the Broncos out of getting points before the half. McKenzie caught a pass by the sideline and instead of going right out of bounds, he turned inside and tried to get more yards. The Broncos had no timeouts left and were in field goal range if he goes out of bounds, but of course he didn't and the clock ran out. McKenzie has been so bad this season, it is justifiable that he could get released in the offseason. Just another awful display of football by the Broncos once again-just like every game this year.

4) I still don't know if Vance Joseph is going to get fired or not after the season, but he continues to underwhelm as a head coach. The Broncos looked checked out and they looked like they were mailing it in in the second half. There was another blown coverage that led to the Redskins third TD-something that has happened a lot this year. This game was another example of them looking lost and unprepared.

5) The Broncos finish up the regular season at home against the Chiefs. KC is resting a lot of starters and the Broncos are going with Paxton Lynch. The Broncos will finally put the finishing touches on the worst season in Broncos history, and they will enter an offseason full of change and revision.