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This afternoon’s loss was their fourth in a row after starting the season Phillip Lindsay Color Rush Jersey off with two impressive wins. This year’s team looks to be embarking in a similar journey to last year’s squad. Unfortunately, we all know how that story ends. Brace yourselves for another down season, Broncos Country — and remember — Denver Broncos T-Shirts it’s only the middle of October. Here are five things we learned from today’s game.1. The Broncos’ rushing defense is trash and was exploited againRemember when the Broncos had an elite defense especially against the run? Sure you do! Unfortunately for that was forever ago. Last weekend, Isaiah Crowell had a career game and this week Todd Gurley decided he would have the best single-season rushing game of his career as well. He unquestionably had the largest impact for the Rams’ offensively, racking up 208 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns. It was the second consecutive week where the Broncos’ front seven were absolutely owned in the trenches and put forth an absolutely unacceptable performance.There are a lot of issues with the Broncos’ defense that need to be addressed, but the sub-par play of starting inside linebacker’s Todd Davis and Brandon Marshall is certainly one of the most glaring. Often hesitant or late getting into their gap, they were isolated and exposed by the Rams’ offensive line all game long. It’s hard to imagine the team picking up their team option on Marshall and paying him $9 million next season and even keeping Davis around for $5 million. That being said, their poor efforts to date are one of the reasons why I believe inside linebacker is one of the biggest long-term needs for the franchise moving forward. The 2019 NFL Draft has a lot of quality talent at the position and presents a prime opportunity for Denver to use a premium selection on a difference-maker at the position to start alongside Josey Jewell next season. Oh, it would also be wise of them to take advantage of a deep defensive line class too.2. The Broncos’ running game was completely shut downMost weeks myself and all of Broncos Country have been extremely upset with the lack of commitment to the running game, but it just wasn’t working for Denver this afternoon. The Rams have struggled defending the run all season long, but were able to limit the impact of rookie running backs Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay. Offensive guard Ronald Leary exiting the game early on due to injury didn’t help matters, but Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh were forces on the interior of the Rams’ defense that dealt the Broncos’ offensive line a lot of losses in the trenches.3. Self-inflicted woes continue to be Broncos’ baneOver the course of their four-game losing streak the Broncos have been their own worst enemies. Whether it was Emmanuel Sanders’ taunting penalty at the end of the first quarter that likely took a touchdown off the board Denver Broncos Hats , holding penalties by Garett Bolles (league leader in that category since 2017) and Max Garcia (remind me why he got the start) or horrific play-calling and execution on third and fourth down situations — the Broncos’ can seem to get out of their own way. They lack discipline, consistency and have absolutely no rhythm on either side of the ball. I can’t help but wonder if today’s outcome would have been different without their self-inflicted woes, especially had they opted to kick a field goal at the end of the first half instead of going for it on fourth down.4. Bradley Chubb emerges with an impressive performanceThe franchise and its fan base had high hopes for rookie outside linebacker Bradley Chubb when he was the fifth overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. While he has been quite most of the season, he emerged in today’s game against the Rams with a ferocious performance. He had three sacks and made a few quality plays in the running game — showing everyone why he was considered one of the best players in the entire draft. While fans still may be upset that the Broncos passed on a potential franchise quarterback for his services, they should be happy with the fact they ended up with a blue-chip defender who will be cornerstone of the defense for a long time. Congratulations to Chubb on an awesome performance!5. Subtle silver-lining: At least it wasn’t a blowoutMost of the staff and Broncos Country predicted a blowout, but that didn’t transpire. It’s always hard to find silver-lining’s in losses, but the team fought hard and didn’t crumble against the league’s best team. That likely won’t change the overall course of events for the rest of the season and probably won’t save Vance Joseph’s job, but it was at least nice to see them be competitive against the Rams. Maybe, just maybe, they will get back on track four days from now when they take on the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football.So Broncos Country, what were your five big observations from today’s game? Sound off in the comments section and make your voice heard! What a long strange trip it has been. Without question, the first seven games of season has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride for the Denver Broncos. After starting off their 2018 campaign with two thrilling victories https://www.broncosfanstore.com/hoodie , the team and its fans had a reason to be optimistic. Unfortunately, the success was short-lived and pessimism reared its ugly head as the franchise suffered a dreadful four-game losing streak.Despite gaining an impressive 14 point lead in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens, the team vanished from the gridiron the remainder of the contest and surrendered 27 unanswered points en route to their first loss of the year. Looking to rebound at home the following week, the Broncos imploded and relinquished a two score advantage in the fourth quarter to lose a heart-breaker to the Kansas City Chiefs. Their week five road adventure against the New York Jets was absolutely pitiful, only to be followed up with another poor performance riddled with self-inflicted wounds that resulted in defeat against the Los Angeles Rams.The past four weeks have been an unexpected and absolute nightmare for the franchise and its fans. Many of us have been wondering, “What in the Hell happened?”There were no shortage of answers for how the Broncos could have fallen so hard, so fast. Whether it was lackluster coaching, poor individual play or just something larger at play — nothing was going right or as expected.A season that could have (and likely should have) started out with four wins and two losses turned out to be the exact opposite. It closely resembled what the team had endured just a year prior — a road leading to nowhere — with most all of Broncos Country losing faith in the team at a rapid pace and were seemingly all too eager to throw in the towel for the remainder of the year. In order to stop the mayhem something needed to be done. They desperately needed a win.On Thursday night, the Broncos did more than just win. They fulfilled what Von Miller had promised earlier in the week and embarked upon an ass-kicking of epic proportions against the Arizona Cardinals. It was a decisive victory in a game they dominated from start to finish. After weeks of despair, the Broncos just may have gotten their swagger back. At the very least, a much needed boost of confidence and source of inspiration to propel them to greater heights the rest of the season.“We knew what we needed to do. In those four games that we lost, there were two games that we should have won https://www.broncosfanstore.com/Tom-Jackson-Jersey ,” remarked offensive tackle Garett Bolles. “The ball didn’t bounce our way in those games but tonight, we wanted the whole country to know who we are and what they’re up for every time they come play us. They all better be ready because we’re coming.”Even with an enormous win against the Cardinals, the Broncos still have a lot to prove in order to change the narrative on their season to date — but it’s not too late to continue to make a statement. In just nine days, they will have a chance to make up for their late-game collapse a few weeks ago in a revenge game against the Chiefs. A win will put them back in playoff contention, but a loss would most certainly make those aspirations a virtual mirage. “This is just a little glimpse of how great we can be. When we play good for four quarters offensive, defensively, things become easier so we’re going to get people,” stated inside linebacker Todd Davis. “Like I said, this is the first time anyone has seen us play good football for four quarters. Now that we’ve done it once we can definitely do it again.”With nine games remaining, it’s far too early to count the Broncos out. If they can execute and play efficient football like they did against Arizona — there is no telling how good they can be. Anything can happen on any given Sunday. Here is to hoping that this week’s win against Arizona is a sign of better things ahead and not just an aberration from what we have come to expect thus far.