Broncos 'Need Some Help' After Sloppy Effort in Philly

PHILADELPHIA -- Sometimes there is no need for ducking, dodging or creating spin. You have to give props to Denver head coach Josh McDaniels for understanding this after his team lost here, 30-27, in the final seconds to the Eagles Sunday.

McDaniels was asked about his Broncos' playoff chances after they fell to 8-7.

"I know what happened,'' he said. "We have to do our job. Now we've been put in a situation where we need some help.''

Many coaches in the NFL like to act as if they are so focused that they have no idea what is cooking in the league around them. Often they flinch at any hint of playoff talk.

McDaniels was acknowledging that only one NFL regular-season weekend remains. That he knew in the moments leading up to this loss, that the Jets had upset the previously unbeaten Colts. That the seemingly buoyant Ravens had fallen short in Pittsburgh. That the Texans had flattened the Dolphins.

McDaniels knew that the Jets, Ravens, Steelers and Texans all joined his team with 8-7 records in the AFC mix. And that the playoffs are so near -- yet so far.

"We've got to win our next game, and maybe we will get the opportunity to play longer,'' McDaniels said.

For a Denver team that began the season 6-0, it has come to a wish-and-a-prayer finish. The Broncos must win at home against the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday and hope the cards align to get them in the playoffs in McDaniels' first season as head coach. After the scorching start, Denver lost four straight, then won two, and now has lost three in a row.

They can't keep things straight.

The Eagles rolled out in eight-man-pass coverage and a three-man rush Sunday and the Broncos got all gooey. They expected much more pass-rush pressure -- the usually blitz-heavy Eagles assortment -- and took nearly half the game to figure it wasn't coming and what to do next. Hey guys, consistently dink it, dunk it in the passing game and take your big-play shots when you can.

Finally, Denver warmed to this approach. It was a bumpy first half for them, and then positive plays came in bunches in the second half.

That is why they were outscored 20-7 in the first half, but won the second half 20-10.

It all still added up to another lousy Broncos loss as Philadelphia's David Akers kicked the winning 28-yard field goal with four seconds left.

"I tell you what, I'm proud of the way we fought back, but we should not have been in that kind of hole,'' Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "We have to be careful when we say that because that is an elite team. They have a lot of weapons and a distributor back there in Donovan McNabb who finds them.''

Broncos tight end Daniel Graham offered: "The games are 60 minutes, not 30 minutes. And, with that in mind, for the way we played, we deserved to lose. They are explosive. We can be that way.''



Actually, the Broncos showed little pop. They could not escape the box that the Philadelphia defense designed. Their longest completion to a wide receiver was for 18 yards. Their most dynamic offensive player, receiver Brandon Marshall, was limited to eight catches for 39 yards with a long grab of nine yards. Their longest run of the day was for 33 yards by former Eagle Correll Buckhalter; however, no other Bronco managed a run longer than seven yards.

The Broncos averaged 3.9 yards gained per pass attempt. The Eagles averaged 7.4.

McNabb (322 passing yards, three touchdown passes) kept finding a variety of Eagles downfield for huge gains, none bigger than his 27-yard toss to rookie receiver Jeremy Maclin on the drive that set up Akers' winning kick.

It was a game where, early on, everything looked easy for the Eagles, everything looked hard for the Broncos -- the Eagles dominated them at the outset, and then decided to take the rest of the game off. They were forced to re-start after the Broncos kicked into gear.

But the Eagles made certain they gained the final kick.

There was Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil, setting the franchise single-season sack record with two more in this game for a total of 17 for the season. There was Broncos receiver Brandon Stokely ejected early for making contact with a referee -- surely, that changed the vertical depth of the Broncos offense.. There was Eagles running back Brian Westbrook returning (nine rushes, two catches) after missing eight games due to concussion issues. There was safety Brian Dawkins in Broncos orange rather than the Philadelphia green he wore for the previous 13 seasons.

Dawkins did not enter the field for pregame warm-ups.

After the game, he visited the Eagles locker room. Buckhalter, too.

"It was real, real nerve-racking,'' Dawkins said of his return to Lincoln Financial Field and to this city he still calls home. "I've been in a lot of big games before, but I was trying to control my emotions. Once the ball was snapped, it was about football. Period. We played good football too late.''

The Eagles (11-4), in defeating Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, the Giants, San Francisco and now Denver in consecutive weeks, inched closer to their sixth divisional title under coach Andy Reid. This team has scored more points (429) than any in Eagles history.

The Eagles say they are pumped and primed for their showdown at Dallas next Sunday -- one that will decide the NFC East.

"We have done a great job this year not getting stuck on anything, on moving on after business is finished,'' Eagles linebacker Akeem Jordan said. "We've put ourselves in position to be able to play our best football at Dallas and for the rest of the way.''

The Eagles play, look and sound like a confident team. They appear over the growing pains the Broncos are enduring. They are postseason-bound, with the only question remaining how high an NFC seeding they can obtain.

"I think we've already established ourselves with our character, who we are, and what we're about, but I think it was important for us to experience that type of battle because that's what playoffs are like,'' Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver said. "It's pretty knuckle-up, buckle-up type of football.''

Playoff football is always that.

The Broncos -- and every team on the edge -- are learning that these final games, just to qualify for the postseason, are also "knuckle-up, buckle-up.''