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Published on 01/01/2012 at Sun Jan 01 17:25.
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Broncos lose to Chiefs 3-7 in season finale

Posted Sun Jan 1st by

Denver Broncos' Tim Tebow pitches the ball to teammate Lance Ball while playing against the Kansas City Chiefs during their NFL football game in Denver, Colorado January 1, 2012. (REUTERS/Mark Leffingwell)

Whatever swagger the Denver Broncos had following their six-game win streak has flown out the window. The offensively offense-less Broncos lost 3-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17, dropping their third straight game to finish the 2011 season 8-8.

Tim Tebow‘s fourth quarter magic has been noticeably missing of late. Two late-game comeback opportunities — the staple of the Tebow era in Denver — evaded the Broncos QB today as his last pass was intercepted with a few dozen seconds left in the game. His fumble in the second quarter within striking distance of the Chiefs’ end zone was an even larger game-killer. Tebow finished 6 for 22 for 60 yards and an interception.

The defense held Kansas City to seven points, and the special teams recovered a muffed punt that setup the Broncos’ only three points. Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and head coach John Fox can share the blame with Tebow for not even scrounging up a measly eight points against Kansas City.

The Broncos can still win the division if the Oakland Raiders lose to the San Diego Chargers today. The Raiders trail 38-26 with less than four minutes remaining.

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  • Anonymous

    Let me guess, still not exposed??? I hope no one here is proud to back door into the playoffs. I think its embarrassing and we will get smoked next week when a real team comes here.

    As I’ve said before I wasn’t highly surprised that we lost to NE, but they did expose us and the Bills and Chefs stole the template and followed it well.

    This era is going to be long and sad I’m afraid.

  • Hansen

    I listened to the game on KOA and it sounds like the Broncos lacked heart today.  Just plain sad.

    The upcoming draft is going to be very interesting, especially with who Elway drafts @ QB.   

  • Anonymous

    I agree! Hope its at least one that can compete. I’m not sure if TT will be the man but he will be here and its just strait up stupid if we do not bring in someone that can ACTUALLY compete with him for real.

  • Denver Dog

    If anyone saw the game, can you let the rest of us who did not get to see the game know: was the offense as bad as the score would indicate?  

  • Anonymous

    Still alive for another game. Still good experience for a young team no matter what else. Still another game for the coaches to improve their planning. Still another game for our QB to work on his passing. Still another game for our WR’s to work on route running and getting open. Still another game where despite the odds, anything can happen. 

    WE ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2005!!! 

    I don’t give a damn how ugly is was, GO BRONCOS!

  • Anonymous

    Yes it was!

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

    What we lacked is Tebow’s ability to throw the ball. That was an aspect of Tebow that seemed to be coming along a few games in, but has seriously regressed. I think that the turnovers the last 2 weeks affected him and he was unwilling to take open targets because he wasn’t certain, or he didn’t see.

    I don’t care how good you think he is. He’s got to be at least a 50% passer to have a chance and he’s simply got to do a better job there.

    IMO this loss is squarely on his shoulders. The defense held the other team to 7 points! The offense couldn’t get it done even when they got handed good field position. Tebow has little rapport with his receivers because he doesn’t throw enough. The run game was good but without air support it wasn’t good enough to just ram it down the Chief’s throat this time.

  • Anonymous

    LOL… I like you Trog for sure! At least you look at it for what it is and don’t make excuses and I like that as well…

  • Anonymous

    haha thanks :) Yeah no excuses, we absolutely sucked on offense! haha. But I prefer to look at it as an opportunity for improvement and hopefully the team does too.

  • Hansen

    Sandy Clough used the word abominable in his description. 

  • Anonymous

    You hater…lol!

    Amen!!!

  • Anonymous

    I’ve got to buy you a soda or beer or what ever one of these days. ~thumbs up~

  • Anonymous

    I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s “squarely” on Tebow’s shoulders. His WR’s need to do a better job of getting open and his coaches need to call better plays. Like sending Royal on slants (I know I’m a broken record but it’s true. The guy should be played like a true slot WR.)

    That being said, Tebow is certainly at the heart of the problem the last 2 weeks as his play has been atrocious and is clearly dragging the rest of the offense down with him.

    Amazingly, he gets a fresh start next week so let’s hope the kid can put together a solid game and remind us why we all started to believe again :)

  • Anonymous

    lol right on! I’m always good to go for either :D

  • Bryan

    Agreed on all points Doom.

    I think the offensive decline (read figured out or exposed, whatever) started in Chicago, and has became alarmingly worse each week. That’s in terms of production, effectiveness, and play calling. If I’m an opposing team, I am not afraid of Tim Tebow or the Broncos offense whatsoever.

    The defense played decent. Orton looked like Orton. Am I the only person that thinks our defense goes for the tackle and never, ever, ever tries to strip the ball out?

    At the end of the day, I’m happy we are FINALLY back in the playoffs and I’m even more ecstatic about the direction of the team following the chaos that McDaniels left us with.

    Now its time to shock the world with some playoff wins!!

  • Troyn

    The offense didn’t play to win.  How many third and long runs were there.  Fox is ultra conservative, that’s just who he is.  You can’t keep putting a young QB into obvious passing situations.   Reeve’s did that to Elway and he was often lousy.  Tebow is not Elway, so why do the same to him?  The name of the game is to keep the defense off balance.  Pass when they think you will run, run when they think you will pass.  Need more run pass option plays for this QB

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

    That word is too kind.

  • Anonymous

    You can’t be serious!?!?  Our receivers were open, unless you were blind.  Timmy made horrible reads and consistently locked on to one received and missed badly.  Timmy is not a good QB at all.  It was a pathetic display on the field, and ee have no business being in the playoffs.  We didn’t earn it.

  • Anonymous

    but when you have a QB that can’t make throws, how do you expect anything different?

  • anthony33

    Completely agree Doom.  Tebow is not the answer.  Pittsburgh will kill us.  We’re in, but don’t deserve it.

  • Audi

    You can’t expect the head coach to call passes when your accuracy and reads as a QB are that horrible.  People keep saying Fox is not allowing Tebow to succeed.  Fox is ultra conservative BECAUSE of Tebow.

  • Frustrated!

    Tebow is not the answer??!?!! Lets be honest, we would be a 3 win team if it were not for the desire that he has brought to the team. What has been exposed is our coaching staff. Orton, Tebow, even Elway would be at a loss in this offense. This is designed futility, and speaks more to a philosophy and not a single players ability. It is no coincidence that the Panthers flourished on offense this year by adding a rookie QB and 2 TEs. TT was tentative and risk averse today, he did not look like the same guy who lead us to 7 improbable wins this year.

    I am as ashamed as any fan of backing into the playoffs, but to put this on one player is as dumb as putting all the wins on one player. If Fox passes on FG’s for 19 yard punts we will lose regardless of the QB. As far as the game plan goes, ever heard of a boot leg, slant, or screen McCoy? 

    This game was coached for late game magic, and that will not happen all of the time. Aggression is needed on offense, especially in this era. Spread, option, motion, I don’t care how you do it, the philosophy is what wins because that is the way the NFL has designed it. I hope we can take more chances, but I will end with the observation that we have not looked the same on offense since Fox kicked a FG against the Pats 3 weeks ago on 4th and short when we were averaging 11 yards a carry. Philosophy is the issue, not the QB that gave us 7 wins.

  • Frustrated!

    TT got us 8 wins over the last 2 years. Maybe give him a chance develop?

  • Anonymous

    You must not have watched the Denver game bud haha. Our wr’s weren’t open very often at all. 

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

    I saw several strip attempts but they honestly aren’t very good at it. That said, tackle first, strip second, because missing the tackle is MUCH worse than missing the strip.

  • areferee

    No one wanted to beat Kansas City more than this blogger, and it would have felt much better to win the Division outright with a 9-7 finish, but to say we didn’t earn it is to forget about the middle of the season and the courageous turnaround the team made from an abysmal 1-4 beginning.

    There is certainly plenty of room to be critical of the play, especially with our offense today, but I prefer to remain a fan, win or lose and will remain hopeful against the Steelers and throughout the playoffs, however brief.

    Plenty of changes need to be made, and I suspect we will make many of them, but there is plenty of time to make them IN THE OFF SEASON.  Not now!

    While we are still in this season, and in the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, I choose to savor the difference, appreciate the team as it exists, and hope for victory in the next game.  For this fan and for now… it’s enough.

  • Anonymous

    “ever heard of a boot leg, slant, or screen McCoy?”

    He didn’t get to be a Coordinator in the NFL because he has never heard of that. Remember some of you guys are ALWAYS the ones spilling out how they are play calling to TT strengths. What does THAT tell ya?

    With that said, you are right its not one players fault but the fact that the whole offense has to play to TT strengths doesn’t make them the problem either.

  • Anonymous

    Well stated!!!

  • SuzyQ

    Hmmmmmm…..  ask any other 8-8 team that is NOT in the playoffs how LUCKY the Broncos are to be IN.  Broncos are on of the worst teams to have the privilege of competing in post season play in some time. 

  • AtomicLeo

    It was worse. The 3 points scored came off of a muffed punt deep in Chiefs’ territory. Tebow did not look comfortable all day. I don’t know if the coaches or the poor performances the past two weeks are in his head, but his passing has regressed back to the timid QB we saw in training camp. 

    You will see a ton of posts blaming the O-line, WRs and coaches for the loss, but Tebow just did not execute. O-line had an outstanding day run blocking despite losing 2 starters. Tebow had all day in the pocket since KC didn’t blitz. They simply put 8 in the box, man on the WRs and stayed home waiting for Tebow to throw or try to run. With out the blitz, screens were not possible and his running was neutralized by disciplined D keeping the angles right and closing lanes. WRs had a few WTF moments (Decker running into Fells *SIGH*) but overall Tebow just didn’t the ball to them. Coaches kept calling plays (ead options, runs,etc.) trying to get Tebow comfortable, but nothing was working, and when he had to pass, it was painful watching him get 4-6 seconds (an eternity in NFL time) in the pocket only to see him throw it away or get dropped for a sack. 

  • Noskills07

    Started the day 5 o’clock pacific time hanging out at San Diego airport only to find out my flight was delayed to 9:30, once 9:30am hit… what do you know my flight was delayed yet again.. luckily I finally got onto another flight heading out to Denver at 10:45. Landed in Denver at 1:40 and ended up paying $40 for parking to hear a crowd cheering a few blocks away. I got a text at the exact moment from my uncle saying “chiefs miss field goal”! Seemed like things were exactly turning around for today… once I finally purchased two coors lights and found my seat, one thing stood out. Not only did the team look dead, hungover… not so determined like I was to make my flight but the crowd was absolutely in zombie mode. I consistently was telling fans around me, “lets go”! Lets get this place rocking only to see fans sitting and zoning out to mile high altitude… pass the doobie brother somethings in the air! This was my first game back to the mile high since broncos beat giants thanksgiving night two years ago I believe it was, back then not one giant fan couldn’t walk around that stadium without getting torched with boo’s… today, chiefs fans were partying with broncos fans as if it was still 2011 party mode!!! I do not care if your a fan of Tebow, or a “hater” or don’t like the coaches or simply think the Broncos this year are just “weak”… whats weak is when you go out of your way to get to the stadium to find out that the people around you are more into there fantasy leagues than actually loving there home town team. Im sorry to say this but mile high has hit a mile low and currently on pause… next week should be interesting, Woody remember the article you wrote way back when more visiting fans then broncos, my guess half the stadium is black and yellow > what a waste of a trip. 

  • Frustrated!

    This offense was just as inept under Orton, who is a much stronger passer. This is not just about the strengths and weaknesses of a raw QB. The idea is to not take risks, but the game is predicated on risk. This game we saw such a risk averse game plan and game management that we literally waited too long to make a move. This game is very similar to the Titans game in week 4. Very conservative, play percentages, and showed very little inclination to diversify the offense. I know McCot knows what those plays are, the question is why not attempt to change the defense, or add something that utilizes the middle of the field in the short range passing game? You can say that TT has passing deficiencies (and you are correct), but the lack of adjustments and the idea that you will not even try to do something other than short runs is the issue. It is week 17 and you need to win the game in the 4th quarter. Seems to me TT has been able to pass and run effectively against better defenses in the past so why not “expose” him?

  • Anonymous

    Well said!

  • Anonymous

    what, just because I don’t agree with you I didn’t watch the game?  Yeah great logic there bub.  Decker, DT and Royal were open plenty of times.  Timmy was just locked onto someone that wasn’t open or he didn’t through a decent pass for them to catch it.  A lot of blame can go towards Timmy, and so could the coaches.

  • Bryan

    Oh no doubt.

  • Dragonborn

    Fact: Denver wins the division, they will host a playoff game and nobody expected them to do that. You can call it luck or whatever you want but it does not matter. Ask the Raiders the Chiefs and Chargers that.  
     
    Fact: You can say whatever you want about Tebow, good or bad but the fact is that Denver is a mediocre team with tremendous limitations and the plain fact that they are in the position they are is a tremendous over achievement. They would have never been in this position without Tebow.  
     
    Fact: Regardless of what happens next McCoy is the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL and if Turner gets the ax in SD Elway should be on the phone the next second offering him the job. The best friends of a young inexperienced passer like Tebow are his tight ends, his running backs out of the backfield and his slant receivers. I did not see a single passing play involving these options today. Run, run and throw long on 3 and 10? Are you kidding me? Simms was saying all day long that you have to call plays like that to get ANY passer in a rhythm. McCoy has an one page playbook. 
     
    Fact: As good as the Bronco defense played today they have not caused a turnover in the last 3 games and they have not pressured the opposing QB hard enough to make any significant mistakes. 
     
    Fact: Fox is playing a style that wins games when you have the lead. Someone should tell him that when you try to come back from behind you cannot be running the ball all game long and ask your QB to win it on the final drive. And when you have one of the most clutch kickers in the league you kick long field goals and take the points you are not afraid to lose field position. 
     
    Final Fact: Broncos won the division with an inexperienced QB who had to learn on the job, a dinosaur Head Coach, a moronic Offensive coordinator, a defense that ranked 24th in the NFL, Miller with a hand in a cast, Dawkins out for importand games, an injured RB, trading away their best pro bowl receiver and after starting 1-4. It is amazing to me that most of you are crying like you did not enjoy the ride. 
    Do I need to remind you that NOBODY gave us a chance in hell to win the division in the start of the year? Do I need to remind you that there has been no playoff Bronco games since 2005?Do I need to remind you that anything can happen in a single game?Let’s kick the Steelers a$$ Sunday.GO BRONCOS!

  • Anonymous

    “but I prefer to remain a fan, win or lose”

    Are you suggesting that because I think we have sucked today the last 3 weeks and things were not “all good” and I don’t like backing into the playoffs that I’m no longer a fan when we loose. Or choose to not be a fan any more? 

    OR that I am less passionate than you because my opinion is different than yours. I promise you there cat daddy that you’ll never meet a more passionate fan than I. I’d love to see us hammer the shit out of the Steelers, but I just don’t see it happening. That doesn’t make me any less a fan ;-)… Just more of a realist than you.

    Don’t know how long you have been around here but if you have followed it much you know how much praise I give the Trogster (sorry Trog had to…lol) for his positive attitude all the time, so I do appreciated your thoughts and angle. But still do not like the suggestion that because I look at it or see it differently that I’m only a fan when we win, cus that is strait up bull do-do my man ;-)…

  • Anonymous

    You need a hug man… here it is ~hug~. hope you feel better :-/.

    On the serious side, I can dig where your coming from! The fan base inside the stadium isnt the same as it used to be for sure…

  • Dragonborn

    I second the opinion that you were watching a different game. 

  • Anonymous

    I really don’t want to attack another fellow Broncos fan, but don’t bring that weak crap that “uh, you were watching another game dude. LOLZ!”  Simms clearly stated that Timmy missed his reads (ones he should be making by now), and missed WIDE OPEN RECEIVERS.  And I’m not the only one who heard this.  Go on over to the Broncos General Discussion Forums.  Plenty of other fellow Broncos fans there that agree with me.

  • Anonymous

    Shoot Trog you and I just talked about the part with Royal. Heck I’d be happy no matter who they were sending on those routes if they’d just try to use it.

    As for next week… Unfortunately I think its going to be the hardest game we have had all season. Its going to be brutal I’m afraid but have to agree with the “any given Sunday” rule.

    And yes I had started to believe (as you know) and I’m kicking myself in the head for not sticking to what I knew in my gut was the real deal…lol.

  • Anonymous

    I thought they were open quite a bit too, but I have to say that they were well covered on the sack plays…

  • Anonymous

    Troyn I agree they didn’t play to win… In-fact I’m really not sure what they were playing for. Seemed to me they were just there hoping like hell the Raiders would loose…

  • Noskills07

    now only if are fan base can read that you just wrote write there! thats the truth 

  • Anonymous

    FACT – We did NOT win the division… The Raiders lost it…

    LMAO… Oh just for the record I don’t cry ;-)…

    FACT – Guys like you fail to realize and accept the fact that during the “ride” we were beating sub-par teams and not one of them are in the play-offs…

    FACT – You have no ideea if we would have been here with out TT, no way to EVER know that as a fact!!! (of course I’m not saying I might not agree with you, its just NOT a Fact)

  • Anonymous

    Huh??? Is that written in English? ;-)

  • Dragonborn

    OK :)

  • Charles Hubbard

    God shared with me that Tebow would struggle as long as he promoted the company named after the pagan goddess of victory… NIKE.  
    I shared this with Tebow and his family… and I was told to be quiet by someone representing him.  
    You see… Satan came up with the pagan goddess NIKE many years ago to take honor away from God. NIKE has been worshipped as the pagan goddess of victory… but that is a lie of the devil. 
    God is the only God who should be worshipped period… and He should be honored for Victory because of the Victory He gave us through Jesus Christ! 
    Tebow has promoted products honoring the name of the pagan goddess NIKE… while promoting products honoring the Name of the Son of God… Jesus Christ. 
    God is NOT happy! 
    God even says in His Word… “Be sure to do all that I have said to you. You must not even say the names of other gods; those names must not come out of your mouth.” – Exodus 23:13 
    And on 1-1… you saw what happened to Tebow. 
    Here’s another 1 that Tebow should pay attention to:  
    Commandment 1… 
    “You shall have no other gods before me.” 
    Exodus 20:3 (God’s Word) 
    Tim… I am your brother trying to get you to obey God. 
    God was kind enough to warn you through me… 
    it’s time to drop NIKE and be blessed for honoring God.

  • Bryan

    :yawn:

  • areferee

    Making no such suggestions.

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