The Denver Broncos announced today that FB Kyle Johnson was released a mere 5 days after he was resigned by the club.  OG Isaac Snell was resigned.  The two are on a roster carousel now that is reminiscent of the Chad Mustard/Adam Meadows/Stephen Alexander situation earlier in the season.

The offense played very well for the third straight game Sunday. Photo Courtesy (AP/M. Spencer Green)

I was so angry and upset over Sunday’s loss I was ready to post a “season-ending” story. That’s the kind of loss Sunday was – the kind that ends a season for a football team. At 5-6, do the Broncos really belong in the playoffs? Should they be in the Super Bowl discussion?

I had to read this article I wrote three weeks ago, days after the Detroit debacle, to set myself straight. We’re not out yet, Broncos fans. The idiotic moments we had yesterday are, luckily, of the fixable kind. A few changes here and there and we’re right back in the mix.

For 54 1/2 minutes, the Broncos dominated the Bears. The Bears didn’t have a drive of 50 yards. The offense scored no touchdowns. In the first three quarters the Bears barely eclipsed 150 yards total offense. The Broncos nearly had that much in 2 plays, both passes, to Andre Hall and Brandon Marshall.

I completely blame assistant coaches Scott O’Brien and Jim Bates for ridiculous decisions in the second half. Of course, punting the ball to Devin Hester was obviously a huge mistake. The defense fell apart in those final minutes of the game, and many have pointed to the fact that the Broncos switched to a prevent defense. Can’t disagree there. While I agree that there were some bogus questionable calls by the refs, there’s no excuse for letting Rex Grossman manhandle us the way he did. Their offense was a non-factor the entire game; we switch to prevent defense and suddenly they’re juggernauts. Even in overtime it looked like we were playing prevent. Unacceptable.

We are now officially on the edge. Consider this the playoffs. One and done. We cannot afford to lose another game. The Chargers have the advantage in the West now, and we will absolutely have to beat them, and everyone else on our schedule, to win the division. Even if the Chargers struggle in one or two of their games, would we want to win the West without beating San Diego?

Other than that Christmas Eve battle, the rest of our schedule looks very winnable. No team has a winning record, and if we can find a way to beat the Chargers we’ll be AFC West champs.

Win the division and we have a home playoff game. We’d be riding a 5-game winning streak with a ton of momentum. Then take the schedule one game at a time – we’d have a home playoff game, then a visit to Foxboro and maybe, just maybe, another shot at the big game.

The room for error is gone now. It’s time for the Broncos to win out, or embrace 2008. For me personally, I’m still all about 2007.

But, like the Broncos, I’m on the edge.

For those who have the NFL Network, enjoy survive an abbreviated re-air of Sunday’s game on NFL Replay. It airs tonight, Tuesday, at 8PM EST/6PM MST. I already have the TiVo set for this one and plan on breaking down as much game tape as the NFLN editors will let me.

I can’t believe no one has noticed this yet. This YouTube footage is a little grainy, but you can clearly see three Broncos players heading straight for Devin Hester in the middle of the field. Before they reach Hester, the Bronco on the left cuts inside to the middle. A moment later, just as Hester gets going, he is the victim of a brutal block in the back, knocking Bronco #2 into Bronco #3.

Just thought I’d point it out. Thanks refs. Nice call, refs. Trust me, I still blame the Denver coaching staff, but the refs definitely dropped the ball on that one.

• As of now, Cecil Sapp, the Broncos’ fifth option, would likely get the start at runningback against the Raiders.  [CBS4 Denver]
• Today is the expected D-Day for Travis Henry.  If no decision is made today, it likely won’t happen for another week.  [Denver Post]
• Game grades for Chicago.  [Denver Post]
• The Broncos need to move on, focus on Sunday at Oakland, and stop dwelling on last week’s heartbreaker.  [Rocky Mountain News]
• Nice stat on the Raiders – 8 of their 11 games have been decided by a touchdown or less.  [Denver Post]

It is a sad day in the NFL.  Starting Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot yesterday in what many report as an armed burglary in his home in Florida.  While doctors were optimistic he would pull through late yesterday, he succumbed to his injury early this morning.  Taylor, who led the NFC in interceptions, was 24 years old.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Taylor family, along with friends of Sean and all of his fans.  Another senseless tragedy has struck the NFL.  For more, see ESPN.

• There’s plenty of blame to go around. Plenty. [Rocky Mountain News]
• Todd Sauerbrun‘s words during the week were posted in Chicago team meetings and in the locker room, giving Devin Hester all the fuel he and his teammates needed. [Denver Post]
• After the game, the sign on Soldier Field showed dual images of Hester, with the one-word description “Ridiculous.” [Rocky Mountain News]
• The Chicago D was awful. The Broncos offense had their way with them. [Denver Post]
• But so was the Broncos D in those final minutes. Until then we had given up 157 yards to the Bears offense. [Rocky Mountain News]
• The refs prevented a huge 94-yard fumble return and had questionable calls in the secondary all day. I love this nugget from Dre Bly: “On a play in the fourth quarter in which tight end Tony Scheffler caught a 41-yard pass despite having his jersey grabbed by Chicago safety Adam Archuleta, Bly said he asked an official why there was no penalty. ‘He said (Archuleta) didn’t grab his jersey long enough? What does that mean?'” [Denver Post]
• J.D.’s boy played despite a bum ankle. Oh, and thanks to Mike Bell for “stepping up.” [Denver Post]
• Thoughts and prayers go out to Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who was shot in a robbery at his Florida home in the early hours of the morning. [Rocky Mountain News]

Devin Hester had two big returns for touchdowns in a game the Broncos should have won. Photo Courtesy (AP/Nam Y. Huh)

The Broncos offense was spectacular. Through three and a half quarters, the defense was dominant, not allowing a Chicago drive of 50 yards, and allowing no touchdowns. Yet all that matters is the final score, which read Chicago 37, Broncos 34 after Robbie Gould kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime. It capped the Bears’ 14-point comeback in the final 5 and a half minutes of regulation in a game the Broncos should have won in every sense of the word.

The special teams let the Broncos down today, with three Chicago touchdowns resulting from big special teams plays in the second half. Devin Hester returned both a punt and kickoff for touchdowns, and a blocked punt with under six minutes left in the game set up the Bears comeback.

The Denver Broncos (5-6) are in 2nd place in the AFC West after the Chargers beat the Ravens this afternoon. The Chicago Bears (5-6) are now 3rd in the NFC North and are still alive in the NFC Wild Card chase.

This is a tough pill to swallow, Broncos fans. This game looked like it was over in the early fourth quarter. This one falls squarely on the shoulders of Special Teams coach/”guru” Scott O’Brien, who elected to continue to kick to Hester even after the first return, and by memory at least once more after the second return. Without those plays we’re talking about the biggest blowout of the year for the Broncos. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the score should have been 34-6 in the fourth. Plain horrible that we lost this game. I’m simply livid that we lost this game.

Full AP game recap will be posted on ESPN soon – find it here – I’m out.

Oh, I remember them like it was yesterday… ur, em… I guess it WAS yeserday…

“We’re not worried at all (about Devin Hester). We respect the hell out of him, don’t get us wrong. But we’re not going to go out there tiptoeing around. We’re not going to do it — That’s not Scott’s M.O. and that’s not my M.O.” — Todd Sauerbrun 11/24/07

I’m sorry, but if your M.O. is to get beat by letting the other team’s return unit score twice in a row, maybe we need to replace you and Scott O’Brien.

I’m so steamed right now that we let this one get away from us, that I’m going to have to cool down before posting anything further…

With just over 5 minutes left in the game, the score should be reading 34-6. Instead, two huge returns by Devin Hester and a blocked punt that resulted in Chicago’s only offensive touchdown has put the Bears in a situation to steal a win. 21 points from special teams, and the score reads 34-27 Denver.