The Broncos’ identity is clear, even if it’s one fans don’t like

The Denver Broncos set an NFL record with their 16th straight one-score win against Carolina, and the midday show says the late comebacks are simply who this team is.

The Broncos are 7-2 heading into their bye week. They lead the AFC West and are on a five-game winning streak, but they’re also wearing out their fans.

Sunday’s 26-21 win over the Carolina Panthers was Denver’s 16th straight victory in a one-score game, the longest streak in NFL history. It also matched a pattern Broncos Country has come to expect. This season, Denver came back to beat Jacksonville in the fourth quarter, rallied from 16-0 down at halftime against the Rams, needed overtime to beat Seattle and scored 15 unanswered fourth-quarter points before stopping Patrick Mahomes at the goal line to beat Kansas City. Last season, the Broncos went 11-2 in one-score games on the way to the AFC Championship game.

On a recent edition of “Dover and Cecil” on 104.3 The Fan, Cecil Lammey said there’s no mystery about what kind of team this is.

“We know their identity, we just don’t like it. Their identity is just that, what I laid out. You’re gonna stumble, bumble, fumble for like 3 quarters, in the 4th quarter you’re gonna turn it on. That’s who they are,” Lammey said.

That description fits the season. The Broncos have trailed at some point in every game. The offense has spent most of the year near the bottom of the league in yards and points, and the slow starts have been a constant topic on this show. The fourth quarters have been a different story. Bo Nix keeps making plays late, and the defense keeps getting the stop it needs.

Josh Dover admitted the streak runs against what he would normally expect.

“That’s so weird, because I want to tell you, ‘Well dude, it’s not sustainable.’ But here we are nine weeks into year two with the same identity,” Dover said.

Close games are supposed to even out over time. Mike Evans warned in the preseason that the law of averages would eventually catch up with a team that won 11 one-score games. So far, it hasn’t. At some point, a streak this long starts to look less like luck and more like something the team does well.

Lammey sees an advantage in that.

“But here’s the thing, like you are creating almost a panic because if you face the Denver Broncos, no lead is safe. And I love that,” Lammey said.

That reputation can affect opponents. A team that leads Denver by 11 in the fourth quarter knows what happened to Kansas City. Coaches get more conservative, players start pressing, and the Broncos have repeatedly taken advantage. A team that never believes it’s out of a game is dangerous in January, when playoff games are usually decided by a few possessions.

Lammey’s appreciation for that comes with a cost.

“Now I hate the identity. My heart is like, I am aging rapidly because of the Broncos this season. I started this year, I actually didn’t look old, now I look old. Thanks to Denver, thanks Sean. I think this team and the cardiac kids, like the heart attack and a sack kind of game that they have, that’s just who they are. That’s who they’re going to be,” Lammey said.

He doesn’t expect it to change.

“And to me, to expect them to be any different is probably a fool’s errand. This is just gonna be the way they are,” Lammey said.

Lammey isn’t letting the Broncos off the hook. Earlier this season, he and Aniello Piro both said a team with Super Bowl hopes should be able to win comfortably. The bye week gives Sean Payton a chance to work on the first halves, and Nix’s last two games suggest the offense is improving.

Still, Lammey’s point stands. After two seasons and 16 straight one-score wins, Denver has made comebacks its identity, and it has worked so far.

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