SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- On the same field that hosted Super Bowl 50, one of the greatest games in Denver Broncos history, the team collapsed on itself Sunday, like some kind of dying star.
For three weeks the Broncos had fought, scraped and clawed their way back to .500 and had attached themselves to the fringe of the AFC's playoff race. And then, despite another scramble to the finish, they made quite the football mess in Levi's Stadium in a 20-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
How bad was it?