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The Denver Broncos are certainly not where they'd hope to be before the start of the season. They now have just a 2-5 record following their 30-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
There are a lot of things wrong with the Broncos, but their greatest ailment appears to be their poor offensive execution. Between constant penalties, poor pass blocking, an inability to convert on third-down, and uninspiring quarterback play, there is a lot to clean up.
Against the Chiefs, the Broncos totaled just 205 total yards of offense while allowing Joe Flacco to get sacked nine times. While their offense has been bad this season — averaging 17.7 points (26th) and 336.2 total yards of offense (25th) — their execution on Thursday Night Football was well under even their regular standards.
They were particularly awful on third-down conversions with a success rate of just 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) in the game. Over their last four games, they have converted on five of their 41 third downs, resulting in a success rate of just 12.2 percent. They were converting on third downs on just 33.3 percent of their attempts prior to their matchup with the Chiefs.
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It is never good to allow an opponent to score 30 points, but the Broncos' defense does deserve to be cut some slack. They are coming off a 16-0 shutout win over the Tennessee Titans and have allowed 16 points and under in three of their performances. There is still plenty of room for growth, but their main struggles lie with their offense.
It appears too late for the Broncos to be able to make a return to relevance after such a poor start to the season. They are now last in their division and are ahead of only the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, and Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC playoff hunt.
The Broncos would need to strive for a Wild Card spot and there are too many superior teams that would likely have the edge. There are teams like the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders are currently the projected 5th and 6th seeds in the AFC with the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Jacksonville Jaguars as the top three teams in the hunt.
It would be wise for the Broncos to look to acquire assets ahead of the Oct. 29 NFL trade deadline. They simply lack the necessary talent to compete in the AFC West even with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes expected to miss multiple games.
The rebuilding process wouldn't have to be too extensive long if the Broncos managed to acquire additional assets before the offseason. They could maximize their draft position this season and then try to bounce back after making additions to their team in the spring.
