The Denver Broncos lost in embarrassing fashion Sunday afternoon, giving up the most points in franchise history. The Dolphins looked like a Power 5 school playing an inferior FCS school.  Normally the day after the game, I would dig deeper into who played well and who didn’t.  However, that would be a waste of time this week, as outside of Marvin Mims Jr.’s 99-yard kick return, nothing went well for Denver. So, instead, I will share some hard-to-believe stats that show just how bad the Broncos were on Sunday.

Denver Forced Two 3rd Downs in the First Half

The Dolphins scored touchdowns on their first two drives and were not faced with a third down until midway through their third drive. By this point, they were running their 20th offensive play. With the way the Dolphins were moving the ball, 3rd and 4 was no problem for them, as Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa hit Braxton Berrios for an 11-yard gain. To make matters worse, Bronco’s linebacker Josey Jewell went down with a groin injury following the third down conversion and was out for the remainder of the game.

Denver Broncos LB Josey Jewell

Bronco’s LB Josey Jewell (47) – Dustin Bradford/ Getty Images

The Dolphins second third down came on their following drive. Denver was able to force a quick 3rd and one and stuffed the third down run attempt. It seemed the Dolphins were going to punt for the first time following a quick three and out.  But Denver would have to wait, as despite leading 21-10, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel elected to go for it on his own 34. The Broncos once again stuffed the run, leading to a turnover on downs.

This gave the Broncos a great opportunity to change the momentum and at least get 3. However, Denver would run three plays, lose 7 yards, and punt right back to Miami.

Tua Threw More Touchdown Passes Than Incomplete Passes

At halftime, Tua had yet to throw an incomplete pass. He was 16/16 for 206 yards and 2 TDs despite his second-best receiver, Jaylen Waddle, being out with injury He was feasting on a Broncos secondary that has been hit hard by the injury bug. It also didn’t hurt that Denver created virtually no-pressure all game. For the day, Tua was 23/26 for 309 yards and 4 TDs.

Denver Allowed 10.1 Yards per Play

The Broncos defense was hopeless against whatever was being thrown at them. Between Tua and backup QB Mike White, the Dolphins averaged 13.4 yards per pass. As a team, the Dolphins also ran the ball at a clip of 8.1 yards per carry for a total of 350 yards. Just about the only thing slowing down Miami was an occasional holding call, but when you average 10.1 yards per play you can withstand an occasional setback.

For the Season, the Broncos Have a -41 Point Differential in the Second Half

The second half has not been friendly to the Broncos this year. A big reason for this is how bad the offense has been in the third quarter. The Broncos have more combined punts and turnovers (5) than points in the third quarter (3). This is a surprising trend for a Sean Payton-coached team. As a whole, I feel Russell Wilson and the offense have looked noticeably better this year. However, they have continually run out of juice in the second half. Denver has averaged 15.7 points in the first half this year but only 7.3 points in the second half. For whatever reason, the Broncos have yet to carry any offensive momentum into the second half.

Looking ahead

The Broncos will travel to Chicago for a winnable game against the Bears. Either the Broncos or the Bears will notch their first win of the year. The Broncos will face an uphill battle the rest of the year as, dating back to 1990, only 4 of 158 teams to start 0-3 have made the playoffs. As bleak as it looks right now, a loss to the Bears would officially be rock bottom for the Broncos.