ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — No one's waving the white flag at UCHealth Training Center.
Von Miller may be with the Rams now, but the Broncos' goals have not changed. And why should they? At 4-4, the Broncos remain in the thick of the AFC playoff race — even if the record has felt a bit like 1-7 at times, as General Manager George Paton noted Tuesday.
"Nobody's surrendering here," Head Coach Vic Fangio said Wednesday. "We talked to the team about that. We have confidence in the players that will step in for [Miller]. We have confidence in our team, [one that] still has the ability to improve a lot. That's what we're counting on. There's no surrender."
Perhaps more importantly, the Broncos' best players — and team captains — seem to have bought into that notion, as well.
"I don't think anybody else had a thought that we were going to come into this and after Von [got traded] just straight up say, 'Forget the rest of these games,'" wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. "We're 4-4, we've got everything right in front of us, and we're going to take it one week at a time, as we have been. Whenever we get done with the season, we'll look up and hopefully we'll like where we're at, and hopefully, we're sitting in L.A. hoisting that trophy. Everything is right in front of us, and it's upon us to take advantage of the opportunity."
Players across defense and across the roster will need to step up for the Broncos to get on a roll, particularly against a team as dangerous as the Cowboys. The 6-1 Dallas team ranks first in total offense and third in scoring offense, and they've got a host of weapons that can challenge the Broncos' defense.
Denver, though, may have players who are able to respond in Miller's absence.
"I have good confidence in those guys," Fangio said of the Broncos' pass-rushers. "I think they all did a good job the other night. Especially with [OLB] Stephen [Weatherly] now being in his second week here, I expect him to pick up his play even more. He contributed heavily the other night. We have [OLB] Malik [Reed] and 'Coop' [OLB Jonathon Cooper]. We're good there. [OLB] Aaron Patrick is coming along, and we have [OLB] Bradley [Chubb] coming back here in a few weeks, too. We have good confidence out there."
As quarterback Teddy Bridgewater put it on Wednesday, the rest of the season is an opportunity for players looking to make an impact following Miller's departure.
"It's about opportunity," Bridgewater said. "Different guys are getting an opportunity now to make plays for this team and either establish themselves in this league or just create a name for themselves in this league."
If they can do so, the Broncos will have a chance to be in the mix late in the season. The Broncos have a tough remaining schedule, but in a muddled AFC in which there are seven teams within a game of each other in the wild-card race, Denver can still earn a spot. And with six of those teams at .500 or within a half-game of it, it's possible that nine wins could be enough to earn a wild-card berth for one of these teams.
"You look at the tape against Washington, and guys played hard," safety Justin Simmons said. "We played really well, and I think the most important thing is we found a way to win the game. There wasn't any throwing in the towel at that point, either. We realize the rest of the schedule. We've got a lot of tough teams left. Obviously, we play Dallas this week. We've still got to play the Chargers twice, and another game against the Raiders, [two against] the Chiefs. There's a lot of tough games left on the schedule, but I think with the preparation that we're having, I love the environment and the culture. It's tough when you're losing.
"… All that really matters is that you're winning on Sunday. If we could just continually find ways to win on Sundays, I think we're going to obviously be more than OK."
Simmons did note that he understands his words won't convince fans of the Broncos' potential for the rest of the season. But after seeing Miller be traded to the Rams and the difficult conversations that followed, Simmons knows what a win this weekend could mean to the Broncos.
"We've got our work cut out for us, but I'm excited," Simmons said. "With all this that's going on with Von and people thinking this, that and the other, what an opportunity for us to go down to Dallas and find a way to win a football game."
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'Nobody's surrendering here': Following Von Miller's departure, Broncos' goals have not changed for 2021 season - DenverBroncos.com
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