It's technically been 20 years since the Broncos have been this bad. For Emmanuel Sanders, the Broncos haven't been the same since winning Super Bowl 50.
A 27-16 loss to the Packers on Sunday dropped Denver to 0-3, marking the franchise's worst start since a star-crossed 1999 campaign that saw John Elway retire before the season and Terrell Davis tear his ACL in Week 4. The Broncos aren't dealing with anything close to that type of turnover presently, but Sanders sounds like he's operating in a similarly sad space.
"Times are rough around here," the veteran wide receiver said, per The Athletic's Nicki Jhabvala. "Obviously the past three years -- it's been tough. Trying to get it right. We sit at 0-3, living in a world of suck. Football is still fun but it's not so much fun when you're losing, especially when you prepare as hard as you can, you go out and have four targets, two catches and 10 yards. But there's always next week, so I'm optimistic."
Sanders' frustration is understandable on multiple levels. As he noted, he wasn't especially involved in the Broncos' run-first attack at Green Bay. Just last week, he caught 11 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. While the 10th-year wideout had gotten off to a strong start to the season, Denver has scored just 46 points through three games. Only two teams among those that have played three games as of Sunday afternoon have scored less.
Moreover, the Broncos aren't rebuilding but not good enough to simply reload. After starting out 4-0 in 2016, Denver has gone 16-31 since. Hence, the past three years have been tough.
