Justin Simmons is not satisfied with moral victories

The Denver Broncos fought hard for that game on Sunday, and it was nice to hope again; but in the end, it was a loss. Losses are losses, and “moral victories” are consolation prizes.

S Justin Simmons expresses this concept well. Following a crushing defeat and an official elimination from the playoffs, he contends that what happened at Empower this week was not enough.

“We’re taking steps in the right direction but those are moral victories though,” he shared, “At the end of the day, coming in on our home turf with a chance to beat the Chiefs—although there were some good plays here and there—it wasn’t consistent all around, defensively especially. We just have to find ways to win these games.”

I think the defense is probably being harsh on themselves once again, especially considering they snatched three interceptions yesterday, but I understand the team is a collective unit, so everyone shares the load.

“We’re 3-10. We lost,” he said plainly, “Yes, you can take positives away, but at the end of the day, we lost. There’s a competitive nature in everyone here.”

Simmons acknowledged the positive moments of the game while keeping everything in perspective, and also seeming to tap into the losing culture that looms over the Broncos organization lately.

“Obviously, it was great that we fought back, it was great that there were takeaways, it was great that we were scoring off the takeaways, but it’d be a different story if we were 10-3 and this happened but we’re not.”

“It’s been like this for a while now since I’ve been here, and it just sucks. At the end of the day, I just hate losing.”

Simmons praised QB Russell Wilson, who really upped his game on Sunday before suffering a concussion on the field. Wilson is currently in concussion protocol.

“Russ is a true pro on and off the field, the way he carries himself, he never quits. That type of stuff is contagious, and I think it’s really cool to see from his perspective. The guy was battling.”

He shared that he didn’t know exactly how the injury happened in the moment, but it was scary, and Wilson “battled” the entire time. “He always talks about how he’ll do anything to win, it just hasn’t been our season. That’s the most frustrating part, but I always appreciate him, and appreciate everyone.”

Honestly, I can’t imagine how frustrating it is for a defense to play at a high level every week and come out with a losing record. I’m happy that the offense showed up this time and gave us something to root for, but it was a little too little, too late. To say that this wasn’t the Broncos’ season is an understatement.