'Disappointed' Broncos fall, see playoff hopes dim

Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior WriterDec 24, 2023, 10:27 PM ET

Jeff Legwold is a senior writer who covers the Denver Broncos and the NFL at ESPN. Jeff has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years, joining ESPN in 2013. He also assists with NFL draft coverage, including his annual top 100 prospects. Jeff has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999. He has attended every scouting combine since 1987.

DENVER — In a race to stay in the chase for an AFC wild-card spot, the Denver Broncos lost the most consistent player on their offense, lost a game in the final seconds and most likely lost their chance at the postseason in one exceedingly disappointing Christmas Eve.

Wide receiver Courtland Sutton left Sunday night’s game against the New England Patriots in the first quarter with a concussion and the rest of the evening didn’t get any better.

Patriots rookie kicker Chad Ryland powered a 56-yard field through the frigid night air with two seconds remaining and New England left with a 26-23 win in Empower Field at Mile High.

“It’s disappointing, it’s a disappointing loss,” Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper said. “Everybody’s feeling it, I know I’m feeling it, it sucks, man, it sucks. We’ve got everything to play for right there and we didn’t get the job done, simple as that. … It’s going to be hard to enjoy Christmas … plain and simple, it wasn’t good enough.”

The loss likely extinguishes the Broncos’ (7-8) playoff chances without a wholesale collapse around them in the AFC. Denver is 4-6 versus AFC opponents, with games remaining against the Chargers and Raiders over the season’s final two weeks.

“I haven’t done the math, I’m feeling this loss right now,” quarterback Russell Wilson said. “We probably should have won this game, probably the best thing we can do is get up [Monday], be with our families and get back to work.”

A dismal first quarter was the tipping point for a Broncos’ offense, as it struggled mightily without Sutton in the game. Denver’s first three possessions started at the New England 6-, 46- and 25-yard lines, but the Broncos came away with just seven points.

The Broncos followed that up with minus-7 net yards in the third quarter as Wilson was sacked five times. Denver had one play in the game longer than 21 yards.

“Frustrating game in that we had a lot of opportunities, especially in the first half; offensively we struggled,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. ” … Our margin for error right now isn’t what it needs to be and we end up on the losing end of a game.”

Sutton came into the game third in the league in receiving touchdowns this season with 10 and until a fourth-quarter rejuvenation, the Broncos didn’t have anyone to close the deal in the red zone as he has done throughout the year. In the first half the Broncos had one reception by a wide receiver — a 9-yard catch by Marvin Mims Jr.

Add all of that to a 20-point third quarter by the Patriots that included returning Mims’ fumble on a kickoff for a touchdown — their third of the quarter — and the recipe was in place for the Broncos to also fumble away their playoff hopes.

“I felt like, personally, I blew it,” Mims said. “That’s a 14-point swing. It cost us at the end. I got to be better, I know that. At the end of the day, I mean things happen, but I just know I got to be better.”

Payton said after the game Sutton was officially in the concussion protocol, which means he will have to clear several stages, including exams by an independent neurologist, before he can practice fully or play in a game. The Broncos will host the Chargers on Sunday.

Payton said he would give the players Christmas Day, as well as Tuesday, off before the team returns to the practice field Wednesday.

The Broncos’ offense did put together two long touchdown drives — 83 and 78 yards — to tie the game at 23-23 with 2:53 to play. After the two teams traded punts, the Patriots took over at their own 19-yard line with 58 seconds left.

New England drove to the Broncos’ 38-yard line in six plays, aided by two timeouts called by Payton to stop the clock, before Ryland made the game winner.

The loss will probably extend the Broncos’ playoff drought to eight seasons. The team’s last playoff game was its Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers to close out the 2015 season.

“Just disappointed, chance to win a big game at home, I don’t know what all the playoff stuff looks like but I know we needed to win,” said Broncos safety Justin Simmons, the only player on the team for all eight of those years. “… You want to play in games like this. … We didn’t play nearly well enough I order for us to win the game. I am proud of the team and the way that we fought [back from a 1-5 start in 2023] to get to this point, but extremely disappointed with our lack of execution.”

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