Schlereth: Broncos walked out of locker room ‘already defeated’

With its postseason hopes on the line Sunday, in a nationally televised game against a longtime AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos delivered arguably one of its worst overall performances of the season in a 33-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Defensively, it was the most points and most total yards (484 yards) surrendered all season. Offensively, Denver put up the second-lowest number of points and total yards (246).

And by the end of Christmas night, the Chiefs put away any chance of the Broncos repeating as Super Bowl champions.

But according to ESPN NFL analyst and 104.3 The Fan’s Mark Schlereth said Monday that the Broncos took a loss before they ever hit the field.

“With the playoffs on the line, your playoff hopes on the line, that’s the performance you get from your football team,” the “Schlereth and Evans” co-host said. “That, to me, was a football team that walked out of the locker room already defeated.”

Schlereth said it was the culmination of a string of offensive performances, scoring just 23 points in the last three weeks, that a “depleted defense” couldn’t overcome

“Frustration, physical and mental anguish, that’s who they were last night,” Schlereth said.

“Schlereth and Evans” co-host Mike Evans said he saw a team with an empty tank, both physically and emotionally, from the fatigue of trying to carry this offense.”

“And it stinks that it happened in this kind of game because that’s going to be our lasting memory of this season, that when they had to respond on Christmas night in front to of the nation, that they laid that egg,” Evans said.

However, despite the outcome Sunday night, Schlereth said there’s still something to play for next week: pride.

“This one’s for next year. We’re playing the Raiders for next year. We still have something to play for guys. We have to play for pride. We have to play to defeat the Oakland Raiders because we hate the Oakland Raiders. And I hope inside that locker room they have as much hate for the Oakland Raiders as we have outside that locker room,” Schlereth said.

“I understand man. Season’s over. I get it. But you’ve got one job left to do to at least make us feel like you’re moving in the right direction. So, there’s one thing left, and that one thing is to beat the Oakland Raiders.”

After the game, veteran linebacker DeMarcus Ware championed a similar sentiment, saying:

“I think it’s one of those games where, no matter what, you put 2016 behind you. You’ve got to look at 2017, and you’ve got to play your butt off. It is a pride game. It’s the game where, no matter who’s out there, you give it all you’ve got. Because, the thing is, you always play to compete and you always play to win.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.