‘Emotional’ Broncos send Kubiak off with win over Raiders

Aside from pride, there wasn’t much for the Denver Broncos to play for Sunday against the Oakland Raiders in a Week 17 home game rendered meaningless due to being eliminated from playoff contention on Christmas Day.

There was the opportunity to play spoiler, running Oakland’s playoff seeding with a win and a Kansas City Chiefs loss. There was the chance to see rookie Paxton Lynch get some much-needed reps, though that play fell through. And, of course, pride.

But all things told, the Broncos did have much to play for in Sunday’s season finale.

Until they did.

A report from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter saying head coach Gary Kubiak would be stepping away at the end of this season due to health concerns trickled out in the early morning hours Sunday.

So, players who had gone to sleep the night before focused on ending the season on a high note personally woke up to the added motivation to win one more for their “Gipper.”

“We already had a sense going to sleep last night that we needed to win just for ourselves, for each other, just to have a semi-sour taste in our mouths for the offseason. But once everybody woke up this morning and saw that news, we knew that we had to really turn it on,” cornerback Aqib Talib said after the game Sunday.

Turn it on the Broncos did, delivering arguably the team’s best overall performance of the season with a 24-6 win over the Raiders.

“We wanted to send him out the right way with a win,” cornerback Christ Harris Jr said after the game. “It’s hard to leave a job when it’s your dream job and it’s what you love to do. When you have to step down and go away from that, it’s tough for him. We wanted to send him out happily.”

Denver didn’t end up dominating in any phase of the game, aside from stopping Oakland on the ground for a season-low 57 yards. But instead, they received solid performances both offensively and defensively to earn a resounding win.

But joy in a win turned to a different range of emotions in the locker room following the game, when Kubiak addressed the team on his future.

According to several players, a “teary-eyed” Kubiak confirmed what some though was just rumor — or wanted to believe was just rumor — that he would be stepping away for health reasons.

“I was surprised. I saw some stuff this morning, but I really didn’t think it was true. This first thing that I really thought about if I thought it was true was probably because of his health. He had some issues this year, but it was an emotional moment,” wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said after the game.

“We were expecting to have him longer than two years, and he made the decision to call himself down because of his health. We have to respect that.”

Kubiak said in his postgame press conference that he addressed the team, but wouldn’t go into detail about his future until Monday morning.

However, fighting back what appeared to be tears, said he felt emotional during the game, and the locker room after the game had a similar tone to it.

“There was some emotion, naturally. I have a lot invested in this place. You guys know how much I love this place and how much it’s been a part of me. Let me deal with it a little bit more tomorrow. It was tough.”

Kubiak will address the media Monday morning at 10 a.m. Check denversports.com for further updates.

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