The Broncos don’t NEED to beat the Patriots
“It would be a disappointing end to the Broncos’ season but not as soul-crushing as having lost to the Chargers would have been.”
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Last week the pressure truly was on for the Denver Broncos. They HAD to beat the Chargers. After what the Ravens did to them in the 2012 divisional playoff round they had absolutely no choice. Losing to Philip Rivers and his mates – division rivals – on the same weekend a year after “black Sunday” would have been a crushing blow to the organization and its fans. Heads would have rolled. The air would have rushed out of Broncos Country and all the same old narratives about Peyton Manning losing in big games would have surfaced again. It would have been horrible.
They can lose to the Patriots. It would be a disappointing end to the Broncos’ season but not as soul-crushing as having lost to the Chargers would have been. At least Denver has already progressed this season further than they did in 2012. That progress is something that everyone can lean on regardless of the outcome of the AFC Championship game. If the Broncos get eliminated on Sunday hope will remain that they can win in all next year. That would not have been the case if they went down last week.
The Chargers are not as good as the Broncos. They have no recent winning tradition. They can’t fill their stadium; their quarterback is a twat and their coach used to be our offensive coordinator. They backed into the playoffs on a missed kick by a guy playing for a team that started twenty backups in a game that meant nothing to them. For San Diego to come in here and beat the Broncos on their turf would have been the ultimate insult.
There’s no shame in being beaten by New England. It would hurt. It would mean that Denver’s sliver thin window to get to the big dance with Peyton Manning would be even thinner but at least defeat would have come at the hands of a formidable opponent. It would be understandable. Nobody would be happy about it and some folks would even be quite sad but fans could still look back at an incredible Broncos season somewhat warmly.
John Fox will probably not get fired if the Broncos lose to the Pats on Sunday. The Denver front office won’t feel as though it needs to make wholesale changes to the personnel. The Broncos will mostly try and keep the team together, make a few minor improvements and get ready to face next season. Had the Chargers won, though, it’s conceivable if not likely that the Broncos would have made dramatic changes – possibly including the replacement of the coaching staff.
By beating San Diego and moving ahead one space on the game board the Broncos steered clear of disaster. Now the most intense pressure is off. They can feel free to approach this week more like they would any other game. They can have a little fun with it.
The Broncos are going to beat New England. They’re going to go to the Super Bowl and it’s going to be awesome. It’s not “okay” if they don’t – but it least they won’t have lost to the Chargers.
