DENVER _ He took the high road. Lord knows the Broncos' offense deserved worse.
When Von Miller, the de facto captain and cowboy charisma on the best defense to wear Broncos orange and blue, could have buried the offense under the pile of criticism it should endure, he threw his own reputation on the sword, leaving the proper evaluation up to the rest of us.
"It's not the play-calling. It's not the coaches. It's not the front office," Miller said, adjusting his fur coat and Stetson under rivers of sweat Sunday night. "It's on us."
He's kinda, sorta right. It's definitely the Broncos who put themselves one step closer to a painful collapse with a 16-3 loss to the Patriots at Sports Authority Field. But the part that really tickles _ and not in a funny way, but in a big-brother-torturing-little-brother kind of way _ is the half the Broncos are wasting. They are wasting an all-time defense. They are wasting a defense that won the last Super Bowl almost by itself and _ after seeing the so-so competition in the AFC _ is powerful enough to do it again.
But there's no 'O' in Denver. Like Hall of Fame-bound pass rushers who rock cowboy hats and spend their time telling offensive players to "keep your head up" after the disaster that unfolded before 76,893 at Mile High, these kinds of defenses don't come too often. And they're wasting it.
They're wasting it with an offense fit for the other end of the record books. They're wasting it with an offense that opened the second half with five _ count 'em, five _ consecutive punts. They're wasting it with an offense that, by the numbers, is T-1 for the worst in team history: 26th in total offense after another lump of coal, and the lowest the Broncos have tumbled in that particular category is, yes, 26th.
You can argue if there actually has been a worse offense. But that's also a waste of time, like the Broncos calling a running play on third-and-1. The final offensive play for the Broncos was a fumble. If only they had committed a penalty on the play _ and I looked up and down the field for a yellow flag, but all I saw were celebrating Patriots _ it would have been the most fitting end since Rudolph saved Christmas.
"I'm not going to say too much," cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said.
Then he did, muted and G-rated, but he did.
"It's probably the simplest Patriots offense they ever ran," Harris added. "They didn't have to do nothing."
In a strategy that almost is worse than running up the score, the Patriots dumbed it down. Leading 10-3, quarterback Tom Brady didn't even try to convert a third down. He spiked the ball into the turf, knowing a field goal would put the Broncos down two scores.
Putting these Broncos down two scores is telling your buddy to clear the sidewalk and then snapping his shovel. Credit the defense, again, for not taking a shovel to the offensive playbook. If Peyton Manning, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch and Siemian have all struggled with this offense, isn't it fair to determine the quarterback isn't the problem?
"If we don't find a way to win 10 games, we're not going to have an opportunity (in the playoffs)," coach Gary Kubiak said.
The Broncos show two offensive touchdowns over the past three games. After the offensive tooth pull that was last season, and the root canal that is this season, there can be no way they don't overhaul the offensive coaching staff before next season.
"I guess we're beating ourselves," wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said.
This version of the Patriots, without Rob Gronkowski, is nothing special. The Patriots played Wimbledon football and simply waited for the Broncos' offense to slap one into the net. The Broncos did, with a Siemian interception that sucked the life from the only promising drive Denver put together all day.
The Chiefs? Paper tigers who blew a 14-point lead in a home loss to the Titans. The Raiders? Super offense, but not super enough to overcome a defense that couldn't stop a parked car from rolling uphill. What a waste.
"Beefing with the offense isn't going to take us anywhere," cornerback Aqib Talib said.
When I say this is the best defense to play here, I include last season. It is, minus a Malik, the same bunch that served as the guest of honor at a championship parade in February.
Can't stop the run? It's not a wall like last season, but the Titans last week and the Patriots this week both were held below their season average in rushing yards. Vulnerable to the big play? Tom Brady's 68.2 passer rating was his lowest since _ you guessed it _ he posted a 56.4 the last time he ventured into his personal house of horrors, Mile High, at the AFC Championship Game in January. Brady's now 3-7 here.
"No matter what happens _ win, lose or draw _ we feel like we're still the best defense," linebacker Shane Ray said. "We've proved it every week."
They have. Every single week. And you don't need a time machine to remember how quickly an all-time offense or defense can vanish into the frigid night sky. Three years after Manning and Adam Gase co-directed the highest-scoring offense in NFL history, the Broncos are scoring three points in a loss at home.
Next season will be Year 3 of a defense that couldn't be more fun to watch. Now they are probably one loss from being the best defense in NFL history to miss the playoffs. The Broncos are 8-6 and there's never been a team that should finish 8-8 more than this one: Eight wins for the defense, eight losses for the offense. Half great, half bad. What a waste.
