DETROIT — As Jared Goff sat in the pocket and sprayed the ball to one young, highly drafted offensive target after another, the gap between the Broncos and the dynamic Lions quickly became apparent.
Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams combined for 211 yards and five touchdowns during Detroit’s 42-17 rout of Denver on Saturday night at Ford Field, which dropped the Broncos to 7-7 and on the outside looking into the AFC playoff picture with three games remaining. All three of those Lions players are 22 years old or younger and were top-35 picks in the 2022 (Williams) or 2023 (LaPorta, Gibbs) NFL drafts.
Advertisement
The Broncos? They haven’t made so much as a single pick within the top 50 since 2021. Is it any wonder Denver looked older, slower and outclassed in a humiliating loss here Saturday in a game with so much on the line?
“In the NFL, sometimes you just get your ass kicked,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “Tonight was one of those nights.”
The Broncos did not have the benefit of selecting blue-chip prospects like the Lions’ young trio for the past two years. They opted instead to trade for the veteran quarterback, Russell Wilson, whom the organization believed it needed to throw punches with the likes of Patrick Mahomes in their division. They instead chose to trade for the championship-winning coach, Sean Payton, to resurrect a winning culture that had gone stale in Denver.
Rumble, big man!
Lions' Isaiah Buggs scoops the Russell Wilson fumble and follows it up with a solid return.
🎥 @NFLpic.twitter.com/imsQ9gYH2d
— The Athletic NFL (@TheAthleticNFL) December 17, 2023
Both of those moves are a large part of the reason the Broncos had earned a moment like Saturday night, a chance to move two games above .500 this late in the season for the first time in seven years. An opportunity to move into the AFC playoff bracket and even keep alive hopes of an AFC West title. Wilson and Payton have both played major parts in the Broncos making something meaningful of a season that appeared lost.
But the talent disparity between the Broncos and teams like the Lions is real. Denver has now played two of the fastest teams in the league in Detroit and the Miami Dolphins: Total score: 112-37.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes are in their third season together and have made positional speed and physicality the hallmarks of their program. The schedule worked out as such this season that the Broncos scouted a number of opponents who had already played the Lions. By the time Denver dug into the film ahead of its date with Detroit, they weren’t surprised by what they watched. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph noted on Thursday that the Broncos couldn’t get into a position where they were “chasing speed” against the Lions.
Advertisement
“We’ve already been there,” he said, referencing Denver’s 70-20 loss to Miami in which the Dolphins and their array of speedy playmakers scored 10 touchdowns in 11 drives.
The nightmare may not have been as gruesome on Saturday, but it was ugly nonetheless. To start the second quarter, LaPorta caught a pass in the left flat and easily juked linebacker Josey Jewell before barreling into the end zone. It was a harbinger of things to come. The Broncos couldn’t keep pace as the Lions paved an unimpeded path through the middle of the field. Goff completed 24-of-34 passes for 278 yards and five touchdowns, routinely throwing to open targets.
“We knew they had good speed,” Payton said, “but certainly we hoped to play better. It’s a good offense and we struggled with it tonight.”
The blowout loss to the Lions was a reminder that the Broncos are still at least another offseason, maybe two, from drafting and otherwise acquiring the talent they need to flourish in Payton’s scheme offensively. Whether or not Wilson is the quarterback for the team in 2024 and beyond, Denver must become more dynamic offensively. They often looked like they were trying to run a race in quicksand on Saturday. Jerry Jeudy caught a pass over the middle from Wilson on the Broncos’ first offensive play and turned it into a 40-yard gain. En route to a 21-0 halftime deficit, the Broncos only gained one more play of 10-plus yards after that. The Broncos didn’t have a rush of more than six yards until the fourth quarter.
GO DEEPER
Sean Payton downplays sideline flare up with Russell Wilson
Even the big Jeudy play didn’t turn into points for Denver’s challenged offense. On second-and-1o from Detroit’s 20-yard line, Wilson moved left on a naked bootleg and was immediately corralled by Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, who knocked the ball loose. The Lions recovered the ball and flipped field position, extinguishing Denver’s one chance at early momentum. It was the fifth turnover in less than nine quarters for Wilson.
Advertisement
“We’ve just got to play cleaner,” Wilson said.
The loss may have presented some big-picture issues the Broncos have to address, and fixes will take time. But the defeat also brought short-term ramifications. The loss to the Lions likely wipes away Denver’s path to an AFC West title, the goal Payton said his team was eyeing entering the week. The Broncos now trail the Chiefs by two games in the loss column, and they don’t hold important tiebreakers. The Broncos would need to win out and essentially have the Chiefs implode in a way they simply never have with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.
As it is, the Broncos likely need to win their remaining three games — at home against the Patriots (Dec. 24) and Chargers (Dec. 31) and then on the road against the Raiders (Nov. 6 or 7) — to make the postseason for the first time since 2015.
“Every game is a playoff game from now on,” left tackle Garett Bolles said.
The Broncos can still make the playoffs. It would be a massive step forward for an organization that hasn’t had a winning season since 2016. Even with Saturday’s loss, the Broncos are 6-2 in their last eight games. That momentum is not wiped away by one lousy night in Detroit. But as the Broncos churn toward an important short-term goal, it’s clear they have plenty of work to do to paint the big picture they want.
GO DEEPER
What we learned in NFL Week 15: Beware the Ravens and Bills, trouble in Pittsburgh and more
(Photo: Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)
“The Football 100,” the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, is on sale now. Order it here.
