After falling to 0-3, Denver Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders had one way to summarize it. “Times are rough around here … living in a world of suck.”
The Denver Broncos have one of the proudest franchises in the NFL. For the better part of their history, Denver has almost always found a way to play competitive football. The Broncos have won three Super Bowls and been to several more. However, the keyword here is “almost,” as the Broncos have played nothing short of awful football in 2019.
After falling into a dreadful 0-3 hole following their latest defeat to the Green Bay Packers, 27-16 in Lambeau Field, frustrated Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders chimed in about Denver’s rough start to the season.
According to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic, Sanders said, “Times are rough around here … living in a world of suck.” Well, that’s one way to put it. The Broncos have been less than mediocre since winning Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers in 2015. With Peyton Manning retiring after that game, the Broncos haven’t been able to appropriately replace “The Sheriff” and it shows.
Denver has struggled in drafting Pro Bowl-level players for some time. The rough part of that equation is that the greatest player in franchise history, John Elway, is the team’s general manager and he’s picking those players.
Drafting players in the first round like quarterback Paxton Lynch and offensive tackle Garett Bolles have not worked out. While it does seem that the Broncos did make a solid selection last year in taking pass rusher Bradley Chubb out of North Carolina State, he and the team’s best player, Von Miller, still do not have a quarterback sack between them. How is that even possible?
Denver is now on their nth starting quarterback since Manning retired in Joe Flacco. The former Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens is still playing the same uninspired brand of football since winning it all in 2012. So it’s understandable if Sanders is voicing his frustrations.
That being said, he hasn’t exactly been the best wide receiver this side of the Rocky Mountains since leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.
Denver is fortunate that the Broncos play in the same AFC West with the equally bad Oakland Raiders. And the Los Angeles Chargers are having their issues early in the season. However, Denver lost Week 1 on the road to the Silver and Black on Monday Night Football.
The Broncos heartbreakingly lost last week to the Chicago Bears on a game-winning field goal off the leg of Eddy Piñeiro. Denver had taken a late lead in that ball game but gave up a huge completion from a struggling Mitchell Trubisky to get the Bears into field goal range.
Denver is in the first year of the Vic Fangio era in the Mile High City. The Broncos’ previous head coach in Vance Joseph looked completely over his skis in his two years in the job. Fangio is a great defensive coordinator, but into his 60s, has he missed the boat on becoming a solid NFL head coach?
Ultimately, we are presented with more problems from the Broncos and are offered no solutions. Once again, the Broncos are rarely this bad for extended stretches. They are looking at what will likely be their third losing season in a row. Welcome to the “world of suck.”