After a 3-0 start to the season, the Denver Broncos have lost four straight games to tumble out of playoff positioning as the NFL nears the midway point of the season.
Despite the recent struggles, which includes an offense that's scored just 16 points per game and a defense allowing 25.3 points per game over the past four tilts, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater says there is no panic in the locker room.
"It's definitely a locker room that's still together," the QB said Wednesday. "You can sense there's no panic. I said this to the guys yesterday, 'We've got to have a sense of urgency.' You know, it's not time to panic, but it almost is. This thing can go in the wrong direction fast. But I think if we have that sense of urgency and we go out there with the right mindset. It starts in practice, if we practice with the right mindset, we make this a competitive environment, we can turn this thing around."
The Broncos' 3-0 start came against teams currently sporting losing records (2-5 Giants, 1-5 Jaguars, 1-5 Jets). Their current four-game losing streak has come against teams with .500 or better records (5-2 Ravens, 3-3 Steelers, 5-2 Raiders, 4-3 Browns).
After posting a 100-plus passer rating in each of his first three games, Bridgewater has failed to reach that mark the last four weeks -- zero giveaways in Weeks 1-3; six giveaways since Week 4.
On Sunday, Denver faces a Washington team that is struggling on defense, allowing 30 points per game (most in the NFL) and one of two clubs (Texans) to allow 20-plus points in seven games this season.
For Bridgewater, if the Broncos can win Sunday, they have a chance to overcome the recent stumbles and salvage the season.
"We're sitting at 3-4 -- if you look at it, we've played 10 games, three preseason games, seven regular-season games -- so we're right at the halfway point, and we're not in a bad position. We'd like to be in a better position, but that's on us," he said. "So all we can do is control what's in front of us. We can't go back and fix what happened in the past. If we have that right mindset that we have so many more opportunities, the past won't even matter."
