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Is it time to panic about the Broncos’ two-game losing streak? No.

At least not yet, Andrew Mason tells The Afternoon Drive, but if the Broncos were to somehow lose this weekend, then it’s time to be concerned.

Denver Broncos v San Diego Chargers Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro were particularly feisty Tuesday as they channeled their inner conspiracy theories and dared to consider “cracks in the locker room” as well as fallout from a loss to the Texans on national television.

Luckily they spent part of their broadcast talking to Andrew Mason of denverbroncos.com who is both level-headed and critical when it comes to this team.

And Goodman and Shapiro did ask Mase some interesting questions that merit further discussion here.

Do you see the Broncos rebounding against the Texans?

Mason definitely thinks the extra time off between last Thursday’s primetime game and next Monday’s matchup under the lights has already been good for this team.

And Mase added that with coach Gary Kubiak back to practice, players can be more focused because life at Dove Valley is back to normal.

The Broncos writer didn’t think Kubes’ absence was felt in the game plan against San Diego so much as it was definitely felt in practice without Kubiak around to give players his extra pointers here and there or during the game when the coach’s adaptive planning would have been useful.

“Kubiak has a good feel for the game and seeing what the defense is doing and making changes on the fly,” Mase noted. “Without Kubiak, they don’t have the guy with an innate feel for when to shift gears.”

I think this describes perfectly the impact Kubiak’s absence had on the Chargers’ game last week. Rick Dennison scripts the first 15 plays and then he and Kubiak collaborate as the game unfolds, but the head coach certainly takes charge when he needs a more fluid plan.

So what if the unthinkable happens and the Broncos lose Monday night?

While Mason is not one to panic, he didn’t hesitate to say that if a third loss in a row were to occur, then he thinks the team should be “very concerned.”

Last season the Broncos had two, two-loss streaks, and it was after the second one, when the Broncos had lost to Oakland and Pittsburgh in December, that Kubiak held a “Come to Jesus” meeting.

“That got them on the right path and made that Super Bowl run possible,” Mason said, adding that if the extra time to fix things this week doesn’t result in a win, then the Broncos are going to be searching for answers.

I’m going to go with choice A and say that the Broncos are going to right this ship this weekend and we’re not going to need to talk about going off script. I’m also going to focus on the fabulous silver lining in what Mase said - “most of these guys don’t know what a skid beyond two games feels like.”

Very few teams can say that, proving this franchise doesn’t panic and knows how to get back on track.

“We have to play better,” Kubiak said Monday about the two losses. “I told the players today that the last two games for us looked a lot alike, unfortunately. ...For four weeks we had it going on and for the last two we don’t. We’re honest with our mistakes and what we’re doing and understanding that we’re going to have to play a lot better. We have to get some good work in here and get ready to go next Monday.”

Oh, and in case you’re wondering if Mase thinks a quarterback change is in order yet?

No.

Bonus Listen:

Goodman also attempted to create drama by asking whether there are cracks in the locker room based on various comments from players but thankfully Shapiro reigned him in by pointing out it’s just frustration after losing.