Broncos' divided locker room erupted after a loss to the Patriots

Published Dec. 19, 2016 10:56 a.m. ET

Brett Smiley

The Denver Broncos held the New England Patriots to just 16 points at Mile High Stadium on Sunday but didn't sniff a win because they scored only three.

It's one team, but a rift exists between the offense and defense stemming from frustrations over the offense's inability to score points and the defense's inability to bear any more weight. Tensions reportedly boiled over in the locker room after Sunday's loss that dropped the defending champs to 8-6 and took their playoff destiny out of their own hands.

According to NFL.com's Michael Silver, here's how "pretty much your classic offense-vs.-defense divide" manifested in the locker room after another poor offensive showing:

When the beaten Broncos spilled into the locker room, before the door was opened to reporters and other outsiders, coach Gary Kubiak gathered his players and asked if anyone wanted to address the team. Veteran left tackle Russell Okung, who signed with the Broncos last March, stepped forward to speak, and cornerback Aqib Talib strongly objected. According to several witnesses, that set off a spirited shouting match between the team's defensive backs and offensive linemen -- one which Kubiak had to diffuse before it turned ugly.

Talib

ESPN reports that Broncos defensive backs and the team's offensive linemen have exchanged words after a game "at least one other occasion in recent weeks this season."

The most recent altercation followed a stellar defensive performance that saw the defense hold Tom Brady to just 16-for-32 passing, 188 yards and no touchdowns and limited Patriots rushers to 3.5 yards per carry. The only Patriots touchdown followed a Trevor Siemian red zone interception in the second quarter that Logan Ryan returned to midfield.

"Everybody's frustrated," Broncos defensive back Chris Harris Jr. said. "We feel like we played almost good enough defense to win that game. I don't know if [we] ever kept Brady under 16 points, and we did that today. That's what makes you sick, when we come out and play stout like we did today; we could play a little bit better and get some turnovers. ... But they didn't really have to take many chances. They didn't really have to throw the ball down the field too much."

"Y'all see what has to get changed," Harris Jr. said. "I'm not going to speak on it too much."

Said Talib on Sunday: "That's not going to take us nowhere, being frustrated and beefing with the offense."