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Published on 10/24/2010 at Sun Oct 24 18:16.
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SPEAK UP: Where do you rank this loss?

Posted Sun Oct 24th by

Fans of the Denver Broncos look on during the second quarter against the Oakland Raiders at INVESCO Field at Mile High on October 24, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Fans of the Denver Broncos look on during the second quarter against the Oakland Raiders at INVESCO Field at Mile High on October 24, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Broncos 14, Raiders 59. The Broncos gifted Oakland 21 points in the first 6 minutes of the game, but the Raiders still outplayed them the rest of the way 38-14. How does this loss rank all-time for you?

Personally, as someone born in 1984, I was too young to feel the sting of the blowout Super Bowl losses in the 1980’s (although I vividly remember hating the 49ers — who beat Denver in 89 — for weeks). For me, the 1996-1997 playoff loss in the Wild Card round to the second year expansion Jacksonville Jaguars 27-30 still ranks as the worst-feeling loss of all-time, and probably always will.

Another devastating loss was the 2006 season finale vs. San Francisco. Win-and-you’re-in scenario, at home, heavily favored, and the Broncos dropped the ball.

But at least the Broncos showed up for those games. At least they put up a fight.

They didn’t today. In that way, this loss was worse.

Today’s loss is as raw as the 2008 finale — Mike Shanahan‘s last game — where the Broncos lost in San Diego with the division title on the line. They didn’t put up a fight then, and they didn’t put up a fight tonight. Neither opponent (the Chargers were 7-8) was really very good.

My take? This is the second worst loss in Denver Broncos franchise history, behind only that 2008 finale. From top to bottom, Josh McDaniels to Cassius Vaughn, the Broncos were horribly under-prepared and out-executed today. They should be embarrassed.

As a fan, I’m embarrassed.

Which game is worst all-time for you?

Which Broncos loss is worst all-time?

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  • Disgruntled fan

    after the Tebow draft i wanted Mcdaniels fired. I predicted a 6-10 record this season

  • herc_rock

    The '96 Jax loss

  • http://bonniesrandomthoughtsaboutlife.blogspot.com/ Scrubbybubbles

    Today's Loss for me is a VERY close Second to Superbowl 24. That day… I almost Ditched the Broncos….(Seriously!)Took me a LONG time to get over it! Today, All i want them to do is DITCH Josh Mc Daniels!!! Then we can Move on.

  • LevonZevon

    Why don't you open up a discussion about what we aren't doing? If McDaniels was a boxer, he'd be dancing around and covering up for 15 rounds without ever throwing a punch (and all to limit the risk and to try not getting hit).

    We play the game without a single TE receiving threat, yet waste a 2nd round pick on another blocking TE. Then we go max-protect and blitz once a game (unless its a blowout loss like today that pads the stats and confuses announcers about how aggressive Denver really is).

    Its the same old coaching to avoid mistakes mind-set that would drive Rob or Rex Ryan crazy.

    Rob Ryan used the Amoeba formation that Denver used successfully last year once (before discarding it forever). Against New Orleans, all but Shawn Rogers started the play standing up.

    In the first half, they overloaded blitzes to one side and wasted Saints linemen on the opposite end of the line (who ended up blocking no one).

    Then, with the lead, they ran the same stand-up front-seven look but dropped into zone-looks that crowded Brees' passing lanes. McDaniels hasn't used this look since Nolan left, so I assume it was Nolan's idea (and like the run-blitz and using Scheffler and Hillis, McDaniels can't allow it to succeed for spin-doctoring reasons).

    Josh is a stubborn ego-maniac without intestinal fortitude. And even the Broncos website-sponsored Rice-blog speculated that a failure to come out strong vs the Raiders– who twice upended our season with wins at Denver under mediocre QB's– would show that things are a lot worse than is realized (Andrew Mason wrote the same before the game).

    Yet McDaniels still coaches the way he wants and is simply convinced that his dink-and-dunk approach is the way to go (as if the last 17 games have been a mirage). He only blitzes when the game is already out-of-hand (and then, once it inevitably is anticipated and taken advantage of with a screen, he abandons it as if to say “I tried that too”).

    If only he tried it more than once when the game was tied or when we were in the lead.

    Look at the way Demaryius Thomas tried to catch a kickoff in his hands instead of cradling it with his body. As a WR, that's advisable (as the defender is only inches away from impact). But on kickoffs, you are supposed to set your back foot and catch it against your body (to propel yourself forward).

    But they have Thomas on kickoffs risking injury– as he did when trying to pick up the ball and still run– yet won't throew a loop pass to him over the deep middle when we're blitzed (which is what opposing defnsive coordinators fear, since they know we haven't been able to manage a middle-screen since week three in 2009).

    I'd like to hear a discussion of this agonizing failure to use the whole field and to use all 11 players.

    Like throwing to an open Orton when he was uncovered by a Jets defense that seemed to know that McDaniels lacked the nerve to adapt and capitalize on their dare last week.

    Or to actually play football with a TE that can catch the ball (or to acquire a David Thomas or Jeb Putzier type when it became apparent how needed this was).

    Or to actually blitz DJ Williams or anyone up-the-middle (where opponents are right to not expect it more than once a game… if that).

    Or to throw deep to Lloyd to loosen a defense.

    McDaniels has lost the team and is losing his fans too. Heck, he is so stubborn and gutless to do anything that he hasn't practiced ad-nauseum– in his whole new game-plan every week/over-intellectualizing of the game– that valuable Tebow reps in today's late 3rd quarter on were passed up (for fear of whatever Woody Paige or Mike Klis would write about QB controversies).

    In football, fortune favors the bold. You really do make your own luck. And talent along the defensive-line comes at a cost (see Tommy Kelly and Richard Seymour).

    If we had a Parcells, Holmgren elder-statesmen, this ship can be righted. But right now I'd prefer Mangini or Rob Ryan to the most over-cautious head-coach in NFL history.

  • McDaniels hater

    When is Pat Bowlen going to realize that he made a mistake by letting Mike Shannahan go?

    McDaniels is about the worst coach I have seen in over 20 years and Bowlen must be losing his mind. Is PAt going to waste another season on this ego-maniac coach or will he get someone in here that can actually be respected. After 20 plus years of being a fan I won't even pay a dime to the Broncos until Bowlen reaches in his pockets and pays the money it takes to have a winning team. At least a semi-winning team. I hope Pat Bolwen reads this and realizes that he is losing true fans out there!

  • TinFL

    Herc . . you are right on . . . we could have won three in a row . . .

  • Igner Ant

    I actually still think it was a good idea to can Shannahan. But I rate this as the worst non-playoff, non-Superbowl loss that comes to mind for me. Maybe there have been worse, but I managed to black them all out. If there is any mercy at all in heaven, I will forget this game ever happened.

  • Nycdunay

    As a Raider Fan I would just like to say, Suck It Bronco Fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • ABroncosfaninCanada

    I remember watching the 80's Super Bowls and being embarrassed but today I was truly ASHAMED!! McDaniels has got to go!! His preparation sux, his coaching style sux, his play calling sux, his personnel management sux!!!! When is Mr. Bowlen gonna realize this poor guy is in WAY Way over his head? It was like watching an average high school team against ANY pro team.

  • Kermilee

    Im sure you know what that feels like!

  • wyrob

    When I heard a Bronco interview before the game (on 850) and the reporter asked if the players feel a little extra motivation for the Bronco-Raider rivalry games, and the Bronco responded “nah, we just prepare as we do for any other game.” I thought, WTF? We could lose this thing.
    Overall, I like McDaniels. However, I think he only gets this team pumped for HIS rivalries (NE, Jets, etc.) and he has completely missed the opportunity to get his team pumped about their true rivals.

  • john616

    As far as Shanahan is concerned…I put him in the Don Shula, Tom Landry category. The man won us back-to-back SBs. He should have been coach for life. I don't care if he goes 8-8 for 10 years. It's not like I didn't get pissed at Shanny for some of the stupid personnel decisions he made, more than a few…but still, coach for life.

    As far as McD goes…well, rule number one is beat the Raiders. Rule number two is a winning season. Rule number three….well, McD can't accomplish the first two, so why continue.

    That being said, I am a Bronco fan for life. I couldn't change that if I wanted. I will always bleed orange and blue. Therefore, as a lifelong Bronco fan, I exercise my right to call for McD's head. You lost to the Raiders in the worst home loss, and arguably worst loss ever, in team history. Nothing else needs to be said.

  • KOrton18

    Trade McD and next years 4th rounder to Washington for Shanny…

  • Dakota Fan

    I don't get it- McD is highly responsible for this loss, I agree. But who the hell has said anything about the piss-poor effort by the players today? The head coach can scream and F-bomb his team to death, but how do you motivate PROFESSIONALS? Pin this one on the head coach, the assistant coaches, the starters, the reserves, anyone who can be considered football personnel.

    I know that the multi-million dollar coaching staff and players could care less about what I think, but THIS ISN'T FUN ANYMORE. After today, I find myself longing for a lockout in 2011. I'm as loyal as they come, but this one will sting for awhile.

    Incidentally- I thought my two worst Broncos' losses ever were the Jacksonville playoff loss in '96 and the Super Bowl against the Niners (55-10), but those two teams had great talent. 59-14 to the friggin' Raiders makes me despondent.

    Countdown to the lockout: T-minus 127 days and counting. It can't come soon enough.

  • Hardrock72

    I was born & bread Bronco's and lived the ups and downs, but the way Josh Mcdaniels is throwing this team away is a total embrassment!!!!! We as BRONCO'S FANS should have Josh and his way of running things gone!

  • john616

    The Jax playoff loss hurt the most. Today's lost was the worst, most embarrassing performance by a Denver team ever. And to the Raiders of all teams. Nice.

    I will be surprised if the Broncos don't come out fighting mad next week. If a week of living with a 59-14 loss doesn't tick you off a little, you can just go play a different sport.

  • Nycdunay

    Do you even realize that you just complimented me?? Probably not…way to go Kermilee..

  • Eric

    McDaniels needs to go. Trades a quality QB, replaces him with Orton, who while decent, does not have the big-play ability that Cutler did. Passes on positions that we REALLY needed in the draft (say some offensive linemen or a defensive player) and gets a QB…in the first round.

    Today showcased how ineffective he is as a coach, notably the MORONIC passing play on 4th and 1 to give the Raiders the ball back.

    FIRE MCDANIELS

  • Broncosfanman69

    I've been a Denver Fan for 34 years (since I was 7 or 8 – old enough to understand football) and this is not only the worst loss I've ever seen but also the most flat or unprepared team on a particular day that I have ever seen. I don't know if something is going on behind the scenes or what. They didn't fly around or seem into the game from the get go. I would like to know what the hell is going on because it's unacceptable. We the fans who support our team deserve better. Playcalling has sucked all season on both sides of the ball and when we are down by over 30 pts in the 3rd why not put Tebow in and get him some experience, I mean I just don't understand the thinking in that situation. Who knows, might have created a spark ( remember #7 when he started). Tebow is the only Qb since Elway retired that I have seen and felt that type of excitement and expectation. I like Orton and he is having a good year but there is that certain something missing; that drive to excel when a play breaks down, that fight to win no matter what! He folds way to easy when he's pressured. And concerning McDaniels, I have been sitting back and hoping that he shows us what we've been waiting to see but my patience is wearing thin. Sometimes, no, alot of times I think most of us fans could call a better game then what we have been seeing, and that includes all phases of the game. I'm also wondering what is going through Pat Bowlen's head because we all know how crazy Denver Fans are about their team.

    I'm just a concerned Broncofan that loves his team but very frustrated right now! GO BRONCOS!!!

  • herc_rock

    I'm no McD fan, but I don't see how you can pin this shit on him. It's not his fault the LB blew the coverage on the first TD nor is it his fault that Orton threw the pick-six or Thomas fumbled on the very next play. At that point, its game over.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_O3MYWZGDBQKL33RKV6X3ZEDVGI John

    When everyone is done with the knee jerk, realize that McDaniels isn't going anywhere. He WILL be our coach for at least two more years and there's nothing you can do about it.

    As far as the worst loss? For me it is the loss on New Years Eve 2006.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_O3MYWZGDBQKL33RKV6X3ZEDVGI John

    Maybe if he put Tebow in, we would have gotten “The Promise” round 2…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_O3MYWZGDBQKL33RKV6X3ZEDVGI John

    So we can go 8-8 every year, right?

  • TinFL

    John . . . . well said . . . I have often thought that the way we treated Mike Shanahan was going to produce negative karma . . .

    Not the decision . . . but the way the Bronco's handled it was shameful . . . and you all know it . . . and knew it that day . . .

    Now the clock is ticking around . . .

    Tough to swallow? . . . need to ask a professional how one deal's with a profound lesson in humility . . .

    You need to ask Mike Shanahan . . . .

  • john616

    As a Bronco fan since the Floyd Little days, I totally agree with you. That was the single worst game we have ever played. The team had NO energy at all, and falling in a hole early doomed us.

    I know that we are in the minority here when it comes to Tim Tebow, but I also feel a sense of 'excitement and expectation' when he is on the field. Sure, there are the haters, but seeing as how he has yet to throw his first pass, his demise is premature. Can't wait to see how he plays with the game on the line.

    As far as McD goes…he's toast. Unless he pulls off a miracle and gets this team into the playoffs, he is done here. We can overlook a lot of crap as Bronco fans, but losing to the Raiders 59-14 is a fatal flaw.

  • Dbroncs24/7

    that quality qb threw 4 picks and fumbled today but good call

  • john616

    McD is the head coach. The buck stops here and all that. I blame the coach for not having us prepared. I blame the coach for not being able to adjust. I blame the coach for the players they place on the field. I blame the coach for lousy play-calling. I blame the coach for lousy coaching.

    I blame the players for playing like ****, totally sleepwalking through the game. I mean we made the Raiders look like the Niners of Super Bowl blowout fame.

    However, as the head coach, you get the bulk of the blame. It's the nature of the business.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    True, but the score was 38-14 from that point on.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_I2CRANQJDAESZP4T6UYAEEJKXE Levon P

    My good man… the Bears offensive line is nothing compared to the Broncos line (when healthy). WHile I do admit Cutler keeps the ball to long sometimes, today he was getting whacked while dropping back. You can't blame the QB for that. I'd still rather have Cutler/Marshall as a 7-year plan than Orton/Lloyd.

  • Pete

    I sat at the first role and saw my beloved team lose… No Fun

  • areferee

    WRONG, John! You're VERY wrong.

    There is PLENTY we can do about it. You are beginning to see it on these pages. Loyal Bronco fans exercising their right to critique, bitch, moan, complain and raise holy hell about the direction the Bowlen/McDaniels administration is taking this team. It begins here.

    From here you will hear the 76,000 faithful turn up the screws on the screw-ups at the games. Just like today, you will see them begin to walk out on the team. From here, you will begin to see an erosion of financial support…fewer jerseys being purchased, lower ratings for the TV games and Bronco Nation beginning to lose its “patriotism”.

    These changes are inevitable and WILL continue, and Bowlen will soon learn it, if he hasn't already. Fans, just like the ones whose posts you are reading here, will force Bowlen to make the needed changes. He's no fool, even though he made a foolish mistake in this hire. He will ultimately be forced to correct it.

    That process has begun.

  • AtomicLeo

    First of all, the Jax Playoff loss was THE worst loss the franchise suffered in the Elway era. At home, playing against an 8-8 team that BARELY made the playoffs. Prevented one of the best offensive teams of all time a shot at 3 SB wins.

    Second, the game today demonstrated in technicolor detail a fatal flaw with McDaniels as play caller. He has a plan. A detailed plan. When the plan does not work, he does not adjust. Numerous examples. The Patriots loss in the SB. Not bailing on the game plan when the team was down 3 TDs in the first quarter today. He simply can.not.adjust.to.anything. Game time situations. Players that don't quite fit his 'system'. Can not adjust.

    What is scary today, the Raiders looked like they knew everything we were gonna do all day. That is a bad bad bad sign. The Raider coaching staff isn't an NFL brain trust. Are we done for the season? It felt like that last after the Steeler game. We didn't look the same the rest of the season after that game.

    And we're stuck with him for two more years. Bowlen can not fire him after this year. He needs 3. You start firing coaches after 2 seasons and the good ones won't come near you. Throw in a shortened season next year due to a lock-out and voila another 2 years. Maybe he'll get fired with 1 year left on his contract, but I doubt it.

  • Guest

    Almost as bad as the Halloween Massacre in the Indiana SUperdome in the '80s or '90s. That was a TERRIBLE loss (with John Elway at the helm, no less), but this one is a hair worse. I've given McD the benefit of the doubt, but this is the last straw. I like Tim Tebow and think he can be the next big QB here, but someone needs to replace McD that feels the same way and hangs on to the guy. One coach out there that likes Tebow and isn't afraid to show it is Jon Gruden, and I'd like to see him coaching the Broncos. Seeing how he was treated by Al Davis, if Gruden wouldn't have the motivation to kick the Raider's *ss, I don't know who would.

  • john616

    Thanks Tin. Might I add one more thing about Shanny…you knew he hated the Raiders.

  • Laramiefan

    Passion not fanatism . Could have used a little luck today . Could have used a front line to protect . Could have used a little pressure on the Raiders Quarterback . Could have used a little passion .Don't think for a minute that any of the Bronco players or coaches will go to bed tonight and not remember this loss .

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_O3MYWZGDBQKL33RKV6X3ZEDVGI John

    Yeah, good luck with that. And take all the fair weather fans with you…

  • TheTroglodyte

    Anyone talking about wanting Shanahan back is obviously smoking WAY too much crack.

    That being said I REALLY hope McD gets his act together or fired this year. I was happy to get rid of both Cutler and Marshall but trading Alphonso Smith after 1 year was just rediculous after we traded up to get him. Give the guy freaking time to develop. Obviously, we were the problem anyways.

    D. Thomas on kickoffs??? WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is a reason 6'4 people don't do kick off returns, let alone prize first round pick ones.

    Why the hell isn't Eddie Royal being utilized in the slot more????

    Why aren't more jump balls being thrown at D. Thomas???

    Why aren't the same people lining up in the same positions at O-Line every week?

    Why don't we freaking run the same damn run play up the middle every time until we get it down?

    Why the hell are we still even pretending to run the ball?

    Why the hell can't Orton scan the field? Is he not allowed to pick a 2nd wr to throw the ball too or is he just not smart enough?

    WHY THE @$!#$ do we keep calling play action when nobody is buying it and we get sacked every single time?

    The defense is the only thing I won't put on McD because in my 30 years of NFL fandom I have NEVER seen 1 side of the ball decimated by injuries like this.

    P.S. anyone blaming the lack of defensive scheming on McD needs to STFU because you couldn't do $#!@ with half a team of practice squad players either.

  • Deadliest Catch08

    Unfortunately McD will be the coach here for at least another year, Bowlen can't afford to make the switch monitarilly. Bowlen does not have the deep pocks he once did, I read somewhere that the Broncos salary was quite a bit lower than a lot of other teams, possibly one reason why they stopped negotiations with an extension for Champ Bailey. So we have an arrogant coach that has proven he knows very little about picking players, picking coaches (Don “Wink” Martindale appears to be another failure as a defensive coordinator, and as his predecessors have, will surely be replaced by someone else next year), highly questionable play calling, questionable player substitutions, questionable preparation and we as fans are stuck, stuck with this situation. It will be three or four years before the Broncos can get out of this mess and be a contending team again.

  • anthony33

    This has to go down as the one of, if not the worst, regular season loss of all time. The 2008 loss to SD was bad, but it was on the road and against a decent team.

    I've been back and forth with McD since he arrived, but sadly now convinced he's not head coach material.

    Hopefully Cowher or Greden would be interested. Cowher would be my first choice.

  • Broncosfanman69

    Well said John, well said!

  • Broncosfanman69

    I like that idea, right on man!

  • john616

    I totally agree with areferee. However, as a fair weather fan, I'll be doing my duty and buying some Raider fans lunch tomorrow as per our standing bet that we have twice a year. And I'll be wearing my Broncos sweatshirt, and I will take all the ribbing and crap they shovel my way with a smile. As a fair weather fan, I will be watching my beloved Broncos next week, urging them to victory against the Niners, which I fully expect to see. Finally, as a fair weather fan, I will be first in line to call for McD's head after that abysmal performance today. I will always support my team, but don't expect me to throw my support to a wet-behind-the-ears coach whose teams have gone from a 6-0 start to 4-13 in the last 17 games, and whose team just got epically crushed by the Raiders. Sorry, there's not enough koolaid for that ****.

  • Doom92

    I agree he didn't make those “bad” plays… However the lack of being able to get guys to respond and play together falls 100% squarely on him. Last year when I was all over McImature you were the one that told me how wrong I was and that I knew nothing about football… Guess I wasn't wrong ;-0…

  • Doom92

    Score wise the worst loss we have had was in 60 something when we lost to the Chiefs 59-7… This is tied with second worse with the SF SB loss at 45…

    For me the biggest loss me also was the Jax game, that hurt pretty bad.

    Unfortunately I have to agree that McImmature isn't going any where, least not this year. Pay pulled the plug on Wade after 2 years BUT he wasn't his “BIG pick” for the future either. As much as I would like to see it also I'd be seriously surprised if he is even fired at the end of the year. Bowlen gave him a 3 year contract and he will coach them all right here. If he turns it around by then it will be longer, but I don't think he will be gone before then…

  • herc_rock

    That doesn't sound like something I'd say.

  • Jimhuls

    With Shanahan you ALWAYS thought you had a chance to win every game! Unfortunately I think Bowlen is a little too committed to McDaniels for the time being. From everything I read he will be given a full 3 or even 4 years to develop. This is a horrible move by the ownership and management, (who also have botched the draft and free agency as well). Please Pat… cut your losses and lose McDaniels. He's clearly in above his head! His day is some day in the future, maybe, but not now!

  • mikebirty

    Shanny's last game was the worst defeat for me. that day, a defeat seemed inevitable and predictable even before the kick off and the players played like it. the 49ers Superbowl was pretty bad too.

    also missing from the poll was the humiliation in Detroit and the consecutive death by Manning play off losses – they were bad.

    i'm pretty sure that the vocal minority will get their way and have Josh sacked soon which is a shame because he'll be a good coach.

    not what i wanted before next week's game

  • http://ehalseymiles.com E. Halsey Miles

    I dunno. The Post writers said they didn't think McDaniels' job was in danger over this, but it's hard for me to believe that.

    The Broncos play the Raiders twice every year, and the Raiders games are basically the most important games of the season. A bad team that beats the Raiders at least has done something worthwhile.

    The thing is, it isn't losing to the Raiders that is hard to stomach.

    It's being embarrassed from the first play and onward at every level. It's hard not to look at that team and ask yourself if there is something fundamentally flawed about the way the organization is doing business, because things are simply not supposed to fail like that in the NFL.

    If Josh's job isn't in danger, it should be. He shouldn't be allowed to be head coach without feeling some serious pressure for letting that happen.

  • Michelle

    They are known for there come backs now people….lets not let this loss get us done. Hopefully it has pissed them off so bad.

  • jlvlo

    He'll be a good coach!!! Are you serious?? Any evidence?

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