Malcolm Roach is in many ways the beating heart of the Broncos defense.
It’s not just that he plays squarely in the middle at nose tackle.
It’s not just that he plays with an energy that those around him say is infectious.
It’s that he exists with that energy all the time. On the field, in the locker room, in meetings, around the team facility.
If there’s action, Roach probably isn’t far from it.
If there’s something to be said, Roach isn’t afraid to say it.
After a 21-10 Thursday night lead against the division-rival Chargers turned into a 34-27 loss, the Broncos locker room was stung.
Not like the aftermath of the dramatic field goal blocked by Kansas City last month, but certainly a group that understood the opportunity, the work they did to gain control of it and then the frustration that comes with letting it slip through their fingertips.
Roach, like everybody else, was frustrated. But also not about to let any kind of woe-is-us, here-we-go-again pity party take hold.
“Our expectation is to get to the playoffs and do what we do,” he told The Denver Post after the loss dropped Denver to 9-6 and put any celebration of clinching on hold for at least a couple of days and likely longer. “Find ways to win once we get to the playoffs. We’ve still got work to do. We’ve still got a job to do. We’re still alive.
“Right now it’s just delayed, not denied. We’ve got to go get this one on Saturday (against Cincinnati) and get back to work.”
The Broncos are still in good shape. A win against either the Bengals or Kansas City in Week 18 and they’re in. A loss or tie from each of Cincinnati, Miami and Indianapolis serves the same purpose.
So as far as Roach sees it, there’s no reason for any panic or over-reaction.
“That’s it. There’s nothing we can do now. Can’t go back in time,” he said. “We’ve got to go win. We had everything in our hands and now we’ve just got to go. Another week of work and getting things done.”
This much is also clear, though: What for a chunk of Thursday night looked set to be a smooth ride into the postseason and a cathartic burial of Denver’s eight-year playoff drought suddenly feels a little bit bumpy.
They should still get there but consider the following.
Cincinnati has elite offensive talent in quarterback Joe Burrow and receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The Chiefs could well need to play Week 18 to secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
The three other teams behind the Broncos are each home favorites on Sunday.
Denver’s taking the position that nobody’s going to allow them to back into the postseason.
“We’ve got to find a way to get the 10th win,” head coach Sean Payton said after the loss. “We know that.”
With that reality comes the type of pressure that this Denver team has not yet really experienced so far this season.
“Our team has responded to everything that we’ve had happen and I don’t think there’s any chance that that doesn’t happen again,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said.
“We’re a very close group,” right guard Quinn Meinerz added. “We’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs and I think we really came together after the Ravens game. Obviously, that was an ugly one. But I genuinely love this team and I know there’s a bunch of people that would say the same thing.
“I love playing with these guys.”
They’ve rolled through the first 14 games unburdened by external expectations and driven by their own.
The latter, of course, remains in place, but the former adds a layer that can be difficult to ignore as the season hits the final stretch.
The club’s current position brings into focus a simple realization: Getting in position to make the playoffs is one thing. Actually crossing the threshold and kicking down the door is quite another.
“We’ll be fine. If we bounced back from Kansas City, we’ll be able to bounce back from this,” defensive lineman Zach Allen told The Post on Thursday night. “This one hurts because we shot ourselves in the foot, but we’ll be fine. It’s just, I don’t know, it was there. That’s what sucks. But we’ve got two more shots to get that one we need. It’s not like the Patriots game last year.”
A Christmas Eve loss to New England as big home favorites last year basically snuffed Denver’s postseason hopes and led Payton to bench veteran quarterback Russell Wilson. They’d climbed all the way out from a 1-5 hole to 6-5, lost a critical game on the road at Houston and then kept their hopes alive. That Patriots game was underwhelming all around and featured a bout of clock management issues from Payton at the end.
Despite some similarities to Thursday night, though, that was an entirely different situation than the one this team finds itself in now. For one, Wilson’s gone and Denver’s counting on rookie quarterback Bo Nix to lead it to the postseason.
He sees the setup as an opportunity rather than a reason to feel pressure. Before the loss to the Chargers, Nix bit back at the idea of winning one game over the final three to get in, saying instead, “We’ve got three games to win three, go into the playoffs and win the Super Bowl.”
All the same, there’s a reason that only 11 rookie quarterbacks have started and won a playoff game in NFL history. It’s hard to get there with an inexperienced quarterback and even tougher to win once you’re in.
“The good thing is my role is going to be pretty simple because everybody in that locker room wants to already play next week,” Nix said after the loss. “I think at this point, we’re all competitively frustrated and I think we’re excited for this opportunity. We know, this next one’s the most important and we just want to, I think, go out next week and not feel this way again.”
Before the season, most outside the building would not have believed this group would be playing to clinch a spot before Christmas. Now the expectation is there. Failing to get in at this point would come as a brutal disappointment.
Once that thought creeps in, it can be hard to dispel. After the game, players resolved not to let it.
“We still have an opportunity with two weeks to go to control our own destiny here,” McGlinchey said. “And it’s just about bouncing back next weekend at Cincinnati.”
