John Elway spent the offseason revamping his defense to get tougher and deeper in order to match the Seattle Seahawks and avenge a Super Bowl blowout.
Instead Peyton Manning's team limped out in the Divisional Round after a 24-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
"I feel like the season was a waste of time, like we wasted all of our hard work," cornerback Chris Harris said, per The Denver Post. "We have to figure out what the plan is going to be next year and try to move on. It's tough. They beat us in all phases of the game."
Give the much-maligned Colts offensive line heaps of praise for shutting down a star-studded Broncos pass rush, keeping Andrew Luck clean. Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware were almost nonexistent. The Broncos had zero sacks and earned just four quarterback hits the entire game.
"They played better than us. You have to be smart against a guy like (Luck) because of his ability to make plays with his feet. He played a great game. He got the ball out quick at times," said defensive tackle Terrance Knighton. "We clearly didn't do enough on our end to win."
While the Broncos' defensive overhaul went for naught, the Colts will move on to face a Patriots defensive front that didn't get pressure on Joe Flacco last week. If Indy's offensive line keeps Andrew Luck clean once again, the Colts will have a shot at another Super Bowl trip.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Divisional Round game and ranks the remaining quarterbacks still standing. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
