The Broncos Lost To The Colts Because They Were Already Thinking About How Scared They Were Of The Patriots

(Source) — Demaryius Thomas joined Mike Florio on PFT Live to talk about Gary Kubiak, John Fox, Peyton Manning, and all that stuff. But he started with a bombshell about Denver’s season-ending loss to the Indianapolis Colts. It was one he struggled to say. He said Denver’s injuries had the most to do with the team’s struggles in the postseason. He said a lot of guys were playing through a lot of bumps and bruises that maybe weren’t well-known at the time. “It’s hard to point out anything else,” Thomas said. Then he paused. It was clear he wanted to say something more, but wasn’t sure he should say it. He stumbled through it. “I feel like some guys,” he said, pausing again, “didn’t have the fight or whatever it was. It was totally a different team than last year (2013). I think we had more talent this year, but there was a little more fight in that team last year.” Thomas also said that he and his teammates were guilty of looking over Indianapolis, who beat the Broncos 24-13 in Denver, the only home loss of the season. “I think one thing is guys kind of look over the Colts. We had guys talking, the night before the game, ‘I don’t want to go to New England and play New England.’ I think that was one of the big things.”

This is what separates the Patriots from everybody else. This story came out 24 hours ago and John Elway has taken exactly zero action. Can you imagine if it happened in New England? Imagine if the Pats got upset and LaFell came out and said that the whole team was terrified about going into the #1 seed’s house? That their next opponent already owned their head? Belichick would torture people until he found out exactly who it was saying these things. Then he’d call a team meeting and have the culprits executed at midfield. That’s how you foster a culture of winning. That’s how you keep teams terrified of you for 14 years. That’s why we’re the Patriots and you’re not.