Broncos’ preseason loss to Vikings highlights A LOT to focus on (fix) moving forward Case Keenum said Saturday that the Broncos’ loss to his former team definitely left him “wanting” - and he wasn’t the only one.For Broncos fans experiencing not just a glimmer but rather an explosion of hope the past few weeks that perhaps we really had escaped the offensive abyss this team has wallowed in since 2016 Youth Jared Veldheer Jersey , Saturday’s 42-28 loss to the Vikings was downright unacceptable.Not because of the final score. It’s preseason. Who cares?It was that the 14-0 deficit halfway through the first quarter - which featured the Broncos’ No. 1 offense and defense - felt all too familiar. In one 15-minute quarter of football, all the excitement building over the past two weeks evaporated into the thin Rocky Mountain air.And then when the second-string quarterback came in to show how much he has improved after two years of watching, studying, playing NFL football, the story was once again a sequel, not a blockbuster.But as all good football fans - or at least true students of the game - should know, no championships are won in the preseason. Those games are for finding problems and fixing them.So that’s the long view that Keenum is taking.“Right now - training camp and preseason - it’s about building a foundation. It’s about finding what you’re good at and maybe finding what you’re not good at and working on that,” Keenum noted. “We obviously have some things to work on. I think it’s a good test for us, going against a really good team that we know is a really good team. We know we’ve got to work, we’ve got to get better hands down.”He’s right about that. Having completed a measly 1-of-4 passes for five yards, Keenum should be a lock for making some swift improvements next weekend.“It’s disappointing obviously. You want guys to go out there and at least have a decent drive, but we didn’t do that,” head coach Vance Joseph said after the loss. “Offensively, we had a nice first-down play and second play we jumped offsides—self-inflicted wounds. We didn’t start fast and they did.”It’s going to be popular to pile on Joseph for this aggravating loss - and for some great reasons. Reportedly, the coaching staff didn’t “game plan” for the Vikings but instead planned on practicing “concepts” for the offense. Whether that was a good idea is debatable, but it’s a good reminder not to be overly concerned about the offense’s performance Saturday - at least not yet (and as Scotty Payne pointed out, “six plays is not a big sample size.”)As for the lackluster performance of the defense, which gave up 41 rushing yards to Minnesota running back Latavius Murray on three plays in the Vikings’ first drive White Von Miller Jersey , Joseph noted that the defense was missing veteran starters Von Miller and Todd Davis. He added that the missed gap assignments by the linemen didn’t help. It was definitely a night of growing pains for rookie and first-round pick Bradley Chubb, but the entire line struggled.“The first run, it was basically a missed tackle in the hole, and the second run, we didn’t fit it up right,” Joseph said. “That was a strength of ours last year, so we can’t go backwards with that, and we won’t. Obviously, it happened tonight, but it’s preseason and we’ll fix it.”If the coach wants to make it to the beginning of the season, he better hope so.But the game wasn’t all bad, of course. And some of it was quite good - even fun - if you hung around until midway through the third quarter.Eventually the game became a game and the Mile High crowd was all for it. It was a game Kelly really wanted to win, but mostly the second-year quarterback was just happy to be playing in a football game again.“Like I said, there’s a lot of things that we can get better at, but there were also a lot of good things that came from this game, too,” said Kelly, who was drafted as “Mr. Irrelevant. It’s a learning experience http://www.authenticsdenverbroncos.com/cheap-jake-butt-jersey , my first game in 646 days and I’m excited to have the opportunity to be on a great team.”Freeman, who definitely earned first-team reps this week, was thrilled to get a score in his first NFL game.“It was a blessing definitely stepping out there at Mile High just to see all the fans in support and just to be out there for the first game was a moment you have been thinking about for forever,” Freeman said, adding thathis touchdown was just a result of camp repetition. “I just went through my reads. The line did a great job of walling off and I got to the second level so I was just trying to make something happen....We’ve run that play numerous times in camp. I just try to go through my reads throughout the play and it was there for me.”Lindsay, an undrafted free agent from Colorado and a local favorite, said his touchdown was also due to just doing what he’s been doing the last two weeks in camp.“It’s something that we worked on during camp and we’re continuing to work on. That’s what I’m supposed to do,” Lindsay said. “My job is to get open. Chad was able to find me, and we were able to make a play. Chad had a lot of momentum and sparked us. I’m proud of him. He’s a good teammate and a good dude.”That spark from Kelly was no joke, and the guys on the sideline felt it.“The energy [in the second half] was a lot better than the energy in the first half. We got our offense going, we got a couple first downs,” Lindsay added. “Tim Patrick sparked us too when Chad was able to hit him a couple of times. Everything matters and that’s what I’m finding out right now.”For Broncos fans, hopefully Lindsay, Kelly, Patrick and Freeman can keep that spark going while the starters find a better rhythm next weekend.“It’s a good feeling and I just want to continue to make plays,” Lindsay said. “That’s what they brought me in to do - to be a big playmaker. I want to be able to be a spark plug.”Broncos vs Jets: 3 winners, 8 losers in a shameful Denver loss You know the season is lost when you lose to the hapless New York Jets. That is what happened to the Denver Broncos on Sunday in a 34-16 defeat, and if the Jets are bad Youth Todd Davis Jersey , what does that make Denver? The Broncos (2-3) might be worse than they were a season ago, and they were bad in 2017. Winners The Jets Unlike the Broncos, New York moved up in the NFL Draft and got its franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold. It’s fitting the Jets just beat Denver. The future looks bright for Gang Green. The same cannot be said about Broncos Country.Phillip Lindsay The Broncos rookie running back was pretty much the only player who shined on offense. He is fun to watch and will play a big role for this franchise in the foreseeable future.Adam Gotsis Hey, you have to try and find the positives at this point, and at least Denver’s defense created a turnover. Not only that, the offense turned that into a touchdown. At least the start was good. Too bad it derailed shortly after that.Losers Vance Joseph The time has come to fire him and move on. It’s easy to lose track of the number of embarrassing games he’s overseen as head coach, but Sunday against the Jets is the most recent. No more. Joe WoodsNo more. As is the case for Joseph, the time has come to move on. At least Wade Phillips will be in the building next Sunday to completely destroy the franchise that did him wrong.Garett Bolles Or is it Garett Holds? Either way, he leads the NFL in holding penalties and the issues that plagued him in his rookie season haven’t been fixed. The “bust” talk is only going to grow louder and louder. Denver’s offensive line Despite the success this unit has had in run blocking, it is putrid in pass protection. This unit has been bad over the Broncos’ three-game losing streak and now the Los Angeles Rams are up next. Case Keenum Keenum is a liability at this point, and it’s time to consider making the switch to Chad Kelly. Keenum has proven his success with the Minnesota Vikings last season was a fluke. Bradley Roby Holy shit, was he torched on Sunday. What else is there to say? He wasn’t alone, since the Frequent Flyer Zone was open for business against the Jets. Broncos run defenseHoly shit, was this unit torched on Sunday. What else is there to say? John Elway It’s been said that Denver’s legend has no Plan B. Never has that been more true since Peyton Manning retired. It’s clear at this point that Elway has no clue what he’s doing. And his franchise just shamed itself by being annihilated by a bad team that has a franchise quarterback. Whoops.