It not like the NFL is just going to cancel the 2020 season because teams are suffering injuries at what feels like an unprecedented pace. The Denver Broncos will get no reprieve from an injury plagued start to the year.
Quite the opposite. Teams are going to be licking their chops, excited about the prospect of playing a Denver team filled with backups.
As Ian St. Clair and I sat down to preview the Week 3 matchup between the Broncos and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was pretty apparent that we struggled to come up with a scenario where the Broncos walked off the field with a win.
Even if the Broncos season feels sunk, they can still find ways to win games. So, it won’t be about keeping their head above water as much as it will be about submarining through the flood.
A quick look at the state of the Broncos from the sportsbooks’ perspective shows just how the betting experts feelings have changed. That makes it hard to lose that Broncos Country optimism. Even in predicting a loss, I definitely see ways for Denver to steal a win.
But what hurts most, even more than the injuries, is the prolonged ineptitude of the franchise. I’ve been cheering for the Broncos since John Elway was gracing the practice field in Greeley, Colorado during training camp in the mid-1980s.
I can’t remember a five-year period as difficult as the one we are currently experiencing as fans. And it isn’t that we are spoiled, or entitled. The feeling is more about the shock of the length of this malaise.
The departure of Peyton Manning started the spinning carousel of QBs. Constant coaching changes mirrored the lack of true leadership in Denver. There is no way to tell what will come from the battle for ownership. However, the loss of Pat Bowlen has proven to be the biggest blow to the franchise.
My fandom spanned the entirety of Bowlen’s time as owner, and never have we been subjected to this type of extended wandering through the desert.
Frankly, I don’t care what happens with the ownership quarrel. What I do care about is how much longer we will have to endure this.
It felt like Drew Lock could be the puzzle piece that completed this team. There is a ton of young talent on offense, like Noah Fant and Courtland Sutton, who were going to grow with Lock. They still might, but 2020 has put all that on pause.
It’s frustrating, but it won’t last forever. Even 2020 could still be successful. A guy can hope, can’t he?