The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Broncos are willing to play hard for Rosburg

It’s another moral victory for the Broncos, but this one felt a little different.

It was on the road in Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs, and a 27-24 loss to a Super Bowl favorite felt okay, given the circumstances. By now, you know all about the Christmas Day debacle in Los Angeles and Nathaniel Hackett losing his job. Denver showed a lot of fight for interim head coach Jerry Rosburg — and that’s a good sign.

How did it happen and what were the biggest takeaways? Let’s dive into it with our 16th edition of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good

The Broncos picked off Patrick Mahomes for a fourth time this season. Justin Simmons’ beautiful interception in the end zone kept Denver right there in the first half. Mahomes has thrown 12 INTs this year, with four of them coming against the Broncos. Three happened in the first meeting at Empower Field at Mile High back in December.

And while Mahomes is still a wizard, and made the clutch plays when he needed to, Denver has shown at times they can make big plays against him. That will be a nice confidence booster going into 2023, when the Broncos must snap this unbelievable 15-game losing streak to the Chiefs.

Russell Wilson had one of his better games as well. He scored three total touchdowns, including two with his legs. That’s an element of Wilson’s game the Broncos have sorely missed this year, but he still has it deep down. He scampered four times for 27 yards and the two scores. If Wilson is going to get back to his old form next season, that part of his game has to return.

The Bad

However, Wilson threw an extremely ugly interception in the second half, one that couldn’t stop Kansas City’s momentum after a horrible offensive pass interference call against Courtland Sutton swung the vibe of the game. Replays showed Sutton barely pushed off in double-coverage, and the referees flat out blew the call.

But after that happened and the Chiefs scored a quick touchdown, Denver needed to respond. Wilson can’t throw a brutal pick immediately after his team got jobbed by the officials and then gave up a quick score. That’s how it went down, though, and it really hurt the Broncos chances of pulling off the massive upset.

Mahomes’ stat line was still excellent. He threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns, building on his case to be NFL MVP in 2022. The Broncos contained Travis Kelce for the most part, but he converted an early fourth-down and had the reception that allowed KC to run out the clock. The Denver defense has struggled to cover tight ends for years, and that needs to be a point of emphasis this offseason.

The Ugly

So, what happened in Los Angeles on Christmas was ugly. It was pathetic, embarrassing, whatever you want to call it. And ultimately it cost Hackett his job, as CEO Greg Penner couldn’t let the Broncos play another week under Hackett’s leadership, or lack thereof.

Enter the quirky, yet fiery Rosburg, and Denver played hard on Sunday. Very hard. They looked like they wanted to be there and looked like they wanted a victory. Rosburg said as much postgame, knowing how critical a win will be to close the year on a positive note. They couldn’t do it against the Chiefs, but will have one more shot against the Chargers in Week 18.

Sunday showed us two things. First, the team had quit on Hackett. Their performance in L.A. proved as much, as did their willingness to show up and fight against Kansas City. And second, that’s a credit to Rosburg. He’s never been an NFL head coach before and was retired when this season began. How he motivated the team is a bit of a mystery, but it worked.

We don’t know exactly what was said behind closed doors this week, but we do know it was enough to make the Broncos care again. That’s a step in the right direction.

***