National Football League

Broncos have plenty of problems to fix

Published Nov. 1, 2010 10:05 p.m. ET

foxsports

Bad breaks. Poor play. Dismal discipline. These have become the hallmarks of the Denver Broncos' season, no matter which side of the Atlantic they're on.

The Broncos flew home from London on Monday with a four-game losing streak after falling 24-16 to the San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium.

They had plenty of time to brood over their numerous blunders: two touchdowns nullified by penalties, punts of 20 and 21 yards, a shanked extra point and two costly turnovers by Kyle Orton, one at his own 18 that the Niners turned into the decisive touchdown and another in the final minute that sealed Denver's defeat.

With the league's worst ground game, Orton is piling up prolific passing numbers but he's also gaining a reputation for coughing up the ball in crunch time.

Despite five 300-yard games so far - two more than in his previous three seasons as a starter - Orton has turned the ball over in three losses this season when Denver was driving for the tying or winning TD in the final minutes.

He was picked off in the opener at Jacksonville, fumbled an off-target shotgun snap against the Jets and threw an interception with 45 seconds left Sunday.

At 2-6, the Broncos slog into the bye week with their worst mark at the season's halfway point since 1999, when they finished 6-10.

Denver and Pittsburgh are the only NFL teams to avoid a season of 4-12 or worse since the 16-game schedule was instituted in 1978. The Steelers (5-2) already have assured themselves of avoiding the ignominy this year. Not so the Broncos, whose second half doesn't include a single game against a team with a worse record.

Over the last month, coach Josh McDaniels has preached to his players and the media alike about his team playing better in November and December than it did in September and October.

With the training room not so busy, the errors will erode, the lines will finally jell and the toughness and intelligence that McDaniels likes to talk about will at long last come to the fore on the field.

Or so he hopes.

The Broncos' problems include running the ball and stopping the run, two things they haven't done very well in McDaniels' 1 1/2 seasons in Denver. There's also a sloppy special teams unit and a defective defense that's missing too many parts, tackles and assignments.

The Broncos' offensive line has been a mess all season. With rookie J.D. Walton at center, Orton bears the added burden of making all the line calls. And with Ryan Clady slowed by a mending knee and Ryan Harris benched, the beefier line is either springing leaks or unable to create seams for a banged-up backfield.

Making matters worse, the Broncos always seem to be playing catch-up. They've scored just seven points in the first quarter all season. And the oft-disorganized defense has played some snaps with as few as nine and as many as 12 men on the field under first-time coordinator Don Martindale.

About the only thing going right for the Broncos right now is deep threat Brandon Lloyd, who is having a breakout year in his eighth NFL season. He's the first player since Jerry Rice and Webster Slaughter in 1989 to amass 800 yards or more through eight games while averaging at least 20 yards per catch.

He'd rather be winning.

''It's disappointing because I know guys are playing hard and the ball's just not bouncing our way when it comes down to it late in the game,'' Lloyd said Sunday. ''We're not executing as a team efficiently early on in the game. And so we put ourselves into some pretty crappy situations.''

The Broncos' first-quarter foibles and inability to run cost them dearly against San Francisco quarterback Troy Smith, making just his third career start.

''Had we been able to get off to a better start,'' McDaniels said, ''I think we would have put more pressure on them.''

Going up 14-3 late would have done the same thing.

The Broncos thought they had scored on a flea flicker but running back Knowshon Moreno was whistled for a chop block on linebacker Travis LaBoy when guard Russ Hochstein slid over to block him high. That flag erased Jabar Gaffney's long TD catch.

The Broncos settled for a field goal and a 10-3 lead early in the fourth quarter only to watch the 49ers score three TDs over the next 8 1/2 minutes, the last of which was set up by Orton's fumble at his own 18 when he failed to tuck the ball on a scramble.

Denver made a game of it with a late touchdown but Matt Prater shanked the extra point, and Eddie Royal's 78-yard punt return for a touchdown was nullified by a blatant block in the back by Jarvis Moss.

Moss said he had to be smarter than that.

And the Broncos have to be tougher, more disciplined and, by McDaniels' own admission, better coached.

''There's some things we need to address and fix. It might be a longer list than we would have liked at this point,'' he said in promising to look as much in the mirror as he does at his team's tapes this week.