Stokley: Loss to the Bengals would ruin Broncos wins the past 2 weeks
Nov 28, 2018, 1:35 PM | Updated: 1:38 pm
Coming off two big wins against top-tier AFC opponents in the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, the Denver Broncos cannot afford to let up against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, said “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley on Wednesday.
The past two wins have felt good and have been nice, Stokley said, but the Broncos are still 5-6 and a loss would unravel all the good the team’s done the past two games.
“If you go out and play a bad football game this week, it ruins what you did the last two weeks,” Stokley said.
Stokley’s co-host, Zach Bye, echoed a similar statement, saying, “You will give away the fun, exciting two weeks of winning football against top-tier teams, you will give the equity right back if you lose to Cincinnati with a backup quarterback. Period.”
However, Stokley said he has confidence in the Broncos being able to go into Cincinnati, take on a Bengals team with its starting quarterback out for the season, and treat it like a “business trip.”
“I have confidence in them that they have figured it out and that they’re going to go in there and make it a business trip and go out there and handle their business on Sunday,” Stokley said. “That’s where my confidence is right now. That’s what they’ve shown me.”
Still, Stokley cautioned the Broncos not to look beyond this Bengals team, which also sits at 5-6 after having lost five of its last six games.
“That comes down to coaching. All those things that you’re talking about. Yeah, there’s a human element. You understand all these things, but the coaches have to pound it into your head that we can’t overlook this team,” Stokley said. “We’ve been good, but we’re not that good.”
Head coach Vance Joseph addressed the issue earlier this week, saying that he thinks the team understands where they’ve been.
“We have to go make better happen, and 5-6 is still not satisfying for our football team — not for me, especially,” Joseph said. “We’ll see. Let’s get 6-6 and see how that feels, but 5-6 feels like nothing to me, honestly.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
