As if things could get any worse for the Denver Broncos, they will now be without their star pass rusher Bradley Chubb, who tore his ACL. Is Denver doomed?
This season has gone completely off the rails for the Denver Broncos. Despite hiring a new head coach in former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and landing a former Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Joe Flacco, Denver finds itself at a dreadful 0-4 start on the year. To make matters even worse, they will be without star pass rusher Bradley Chubb the rest of the way.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “Broncos’ OLB Bradley Chubb tore his ACL and is out for the year.” Schefter would add, “Chubb actually returned to the game with his knee injury. Now he will have surgery on his torn ACL and miss the season – the biggest loss of Denver’s season.”
This is a devastating blow for the Broncos. Denver has struggled mightily this season, but the best part of its roster was its pass rush. Now it will just be The Von Miller Show while his counterpart in Chubb will be out for the year. Does this sink Denver’s season even further?
Unfortunately, that looks to be the case. Denver was only going to battle for third place in the AFC West this year but looks to be in a class lower than the division rival Oakland Raiders, a team that already beat the Broncos at home in Week 1 on Monday Night Football.
Denver has certainly had its struggles in replacing Peyton Manning at quarterback since his retirement after Super Bowl 50. It does not look like Flacco will be a long-term answer in the Mile High City. Should Denver continue its losing ways, expect rookie second-round pick out of Missouri Drew Lock to get some run in what is increasingly looking like a lost season for Broncos Country.
Perhaps Fangio can devise a pass rush to offset the brutal loss of not having Chubb for the rest of the season? This was his greatest strength in his lengthy coaching career as a defensive coordinator. However, he does look to be a tad over his skis in his new role as head coach. He hadn’t been down on the sideline in decades. And no, things can’t look good from there.
Denver experienced a bit of déjà vu in their latest loss to Gardner Minshew II and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Broncos almost had beaten Fangio’s former employer in the Bears at home in Week 2, only to lose on a game-winning field goal off the leg from Eddy Piñeiro. Minshew led the Jaguars down the field two weeks later to set up a chip-shot game-winner for his kicker, Josh Lambo.
Looking ahead at the Broncos’ schedule and wins will be hard for Denver to come by. Their next four games are at the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers, home versus the Tennessee Titans, home versus the Kansas City Chiefs and at the Indianapolis Colts. Do you think the Broncos will be favored to win any of them? 0-8 is in play for this lost AFC West franchise.
Sure, other teams are struggling out of the gate in 2019. However, few situations look to be as bleak as Denver’s. The Broncos weren’t expected to compete this year, but winning six or seven games was a possibility. Now, is 4-12 this team’s ceiling? That’s brutal.
Will they even win a game in division play? Denver is a bad team that has gotten so much worse as the year has gone on. Without Chubb, where is the young promise on this lackluster NFL franchise coming from? Something has to give. Most unfortunately, it was Chubb’s ACL in Week 4.