News”Disappointed” to lose to the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos

Denver — The Denver Broncos, who were fighting for an AFC wild-card spot, lost a game in the closing seconds, lost their most reliable offensive player, and most likely ruined their postseason hopes on one very depressing Christmas Eve.

After suffering a concussion in the first quarter of Sunday night’s game against the New England Patriots, wide receiver Courtland Sutton was unable to play for the remainder of the evening.

With two seconds left, Patriots rookie kicker Chad Ryland powered a 56-yard field goal through the chilly night air, and New England emerged victorious 26–23 at Empower Field at Mile High.

~:text=%22It’s disappointing because it wasn’t good enough. https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/disappointed-denver-broncos-fall-new-england-patriots/story?id=105906422#:~

Without a complete collapse in the AFC around them, the Broncos’ (7-8) hopes of making the playoffs are probably gone after this loss. With two weeks left in the season, Denver still has games against the Chargers and Raiders. The team is currently 4-6 against AFC opponents.

Quarterback Russell Wilson stated, “I’m feeling this loss right now; I haven’t done the math.” “We probably should have won this game, probably the best thing we can do is get up [Monday], be with our families and get back to work.”

An offensive unit that was struggling terribly without Sutton in the game saw its fortunes turn in the first quarter. The New England6,46, and 25-yard lines were the starting spots for Denver’s first three possessions; however, the Broncos managed just seven points.

After that, the Broncos had minus-7 net yards in the third quarter due to five sacks of Wilson. In the contest, Denver had one play that was longer than 21 yards.

The Broncos coach, Sean Payton, described the game as “frustrating in that we had a lot of opportunities, especially in the first half; offensively we struggled.” “… Our margin for error right now isn’t what it needs to be and we end up on the losing end of a game.”

Sutton had 10 receiving touchdowns going into the game, which put him third in the league. Until a late-quarter comeback, the Broncos lacked a red zone finisher, something he has done all season. Marvin Mims Jr.’s 9-yard reception was the only wide receiver reception for the Broncos in the first half.

All of that combined with a 20-point third-quarter performance by the Patriots, which included their third-quarter score of the game after intercepting a kickoff by Matt Mims, set up the Broncos to likewise throw away their chances of making the playoffs.

but I just know that I need to improve.”