The Denver Broncos were beaten up by the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, literally and metaphorically.
“Obviously, a difficult, tough game,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said after a 41-10 loss on the road. “They beat us, pretty much in all three phases. We didn’t do a good enough job coaching. We lost to a good football team. It’s disappointing.”
Denver’s offense turned the ball over on downs four times. Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw an interception on the first drive of the game when pass when through the hands of wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
“[There were] a lot of what-ifs in this game, and the fact of the matter is we had our butts kicked,” Nix said after the game.
Plain and simple, Denver got whooped in Baltimore.
“Look, this is a tough league,” Payton said. “You work all week, and I think the most important thing, and I just finished telling them this, is, even beyond playing football, there’s going to be games, where you’ve got to go in on Monday, and it’s not going to taste good for any of us. We’re not going to like it, but that’s life.
“We’ve got to bow up and get ready to play next week. That’s why it’s so important when we’re bringing in the right type of players and the mindset. It’s not making any excuses. We got whooped today.”
Losing always hurts, but going into the game with a 5-3 record and then getting blown out created an extra sting for Broncos players.
“This is miserable; it’s no fun,” Nix said. “You never want to lose games like this. You never want to lose, period, but obviously, it’s inevitable sometimes. But you don’t want to lose like this, so it is miserable, and we do have to face it. You either sit there and point fingers at someone, someone else, or you sit there and take ownership of it.
“The only way to get over it and not be in the situation anymore and to continue to find ways to improve is to look internally. That’s what we’re going to do, starting with ourselves and starting with me. There are a few different things you can do, but it’s just a more important, more valuable, decision to say, ‘I, as an individual, have to get better,’ and it starts with each person, and then eventually, you start changing games like this.”
Now Denver has to make Sunday’s defeat a learning experience.
“You know, football is a humbling game and that’s the beauty of it,” cornerback Riley Moss said. “The highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. Everyone in the locker room loves this game and, you know, we can’t forget that. Especially when you get your teeth beat in like this. It’s something that, ‘OK, it happened. Alright, how can we get better so that it doesn’t occur again?’ Because that’s what winning teams do, and I think we have the guys to be able to do that.”
Up next for the Broncos is another tough road game, this one against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“[We’ve] really got to look at this and see why it happened and try to fix our mistakes,” Nix said, “so it doesn’t happen to us again, or we’ll be right back in this same situation.”
