Three observations from the Broncos loss to the Chiefs in Week 17

The Denver Broncos put up a fight against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. They lost the game by a score of 27-24, but they did not go down without a fight. I’m proud of the Broncos for the heart they showed in Week 17. This has been a lost season, and the players could have easily given up. Instead, they fought on both sides of the ball until the very end.

The Chiefs might be the best team in the league, but the Broncos did not back down from the challenge. Instead of looking forward to next year, whether that’s here or with another team, we saw players buy in and sell out for the Broncos. I’m not into “moral victories” but this performance was an indication of the talent the Broncos have on the roster.

Broncos interim head coach Jerry Rosburg told his team after the game that he understands what they’re feeling after this heartbreaking loss.

“I… told them that I understand. I understand what they have been through. I understand how they may have doubts. I understand how they may be thinking internally rather than externally. I understand. I am also heartbroken for them because there are a number of guys in that room that unequivocally bought in and sold out the vision I had with how we play, not what play calls there were, not what coverages we run, but how we play the game,” Rosburg said.

Here are my three biggest observations from the loss to the Chiefs.

***

The Talent is There

Rosburg is revealing quite a few truths as the interim head coach. I love hearing him talk about football because Rosburg is an older coach who is kind of in “DGAF” mode because this is the only time he’ll get this opportunity. I love it. I love the way he’s brutally honest, and he gives us insight that most coaches – trapped in the world of “coach speak” – will not say.

I’ve felt former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett was the biggest part of the problem for the Broncos. Yes, general manager George Paton needs to be better, but I believe in the talented players on this roster. The Broncos have talent – yes, they’ve had a ton of injuries – but they have talent on both sides of the ball. If you had coached them up differently, the Broncos might be fighting for a playoff spot instead of looking for a new direction.

Rosburg basically came out and said what I was thinking. The talent is here, and you see flashes of what this team could have been with better fundamentals.

“We have a lot of talent in that room. These players have been getting ripped. One of you asked me about what I see there. I see a bunch of talented players that need to come together and need to play with fundamentals and need to understand complementary football. That was my mission this week. We made some progress, but it was not nearly good enough. These players deserve and need to win a football game. We need to close this thing out. We are planting seeds here. We want this thing to grow. As I said the other day with Uncle Walt Whitman ‘Oh captain, my captain!’ I may not see this bloom, but it will be rich at some point in time down the road where these things come to fruition,” Rosburg said.

***

The Way You Play Matters

The X’s and O’s matter, but in this league the way you play matters most. There are wrinkles you can put in a playbook, on both sides of the ball, but at the end of the day football is football. You can have the best schemes, but they’ve most likely been seen and done before in this league.

It’s all about “fit” in the NFL, and finding the players who fit what you want to do. It then is all about the way you play. Every team needs players who show up when the chips are down. Every team needs players who will battle when the odds seem impossible.

I thought the heart the Broncos showed on Sunday highlights why Rosburg’s message got through to them. Sure, they’re not going anywhere, but this is about the way you bring your game to the field as a professional. It’s about your teammates. It’s about your own desire to be great in this league.

Rosburg knows the value of the players who understand the way you play matters most.

“I made a commitment to those men in that room to be a better coach this week. I have one week to coach this team and I have to be better this week. They have to be better. They have to pay more attention to the details that put us in those situations. I have the deepest respect and gratitude to those men in that room because they fought. They fought to the very end and that is worth a lot of me,” Rosburg said.

***

Complementary Football

The most important difference I saw in this Broncos’ offense was the way they played complementary football against the Chiefs. This is the ultimate team sport. Yes, having a superstar quarterback can elevate everyone’s play. However, you need to all be working towards a common goal and minimize mistakes along the way.

It’s not all about Russell Wilson. I feel like Wilson can be better with improved coaching and better players around him. However, I feel like he needs to lean on the playmakers he does have around him. Wilson needs to know that he can’t do it all himself. Instead, I like what we saw on Sunday when Wilson was using guys like RB Latavius Murray, WR Jerry Jeudy, and others to help move the ball.

On defense, it can’t just be about CB Patrick Surtain or FS Justin Simmons. The rush and the linebackers need to do their job in order for the secondary to play better. On special teams, it’s not just about the return man. The blockers in front need to be able to clear the way. There are many examples of how a team is first and foremost in the winning combinations in the league.

Under Hackett, there was no complementary football. It seemed too much like he was just hoping Wilson could pull a rabbit out of his hat. The defense played well most weeks, but the special teams was a joke. Against the Chiefs on Sunday, all three phases were playing complementary football and it showed in the results.
After the game, Rosburg talked about how the plan was to go back to basics.

“Well, the gameplan was to, quite frankly, was to play complementary football. These guys heard it from me all week long and that included Russell Wilson because he is such an integral part of the offense and our whole team. Whatever it takes. I did not call those plays. I did not design those plays. The offensive coaches did to their credit. I thought it was a good way of getting us first downs to control the ball, to control the clock and play with our defense and our special teams to give us an opportunity to win in the fourth quarter, which we did not,” Rosburg said.

***

Follow @CecilLammey