Can the Broncos regroup?
For 55 minutes Sunday, the Denver Broncos were one of the teams on the rise in the NFL. They were dominating their third straight opponent and looked like they were going to stay in a tie for first place with San Diego in the AFC West at 6-5.

After starting the season 3-5, Denver had made strides in all phases of the game and adjusted well to a rash of serious injuries. With quarterback Jay Cutler improving, the Broncos surely seemed like a team to keep tabs on going into December. For 55 minutes, that is.

Then the roof caved in on them. In one of the more remarkable games this season, Chicago somehow beat Denver 37-34 in overtime despite being completely manhandled for virtually all the game.

All the uphill fighting that Denver has done took a major hit in that loss. The Broncos remain under .500 for the eighth straight week and must now hope San Diego stumbles again, and they can take advantage. The Broncos' remaining schedule is week, with a Dec. 24 game at San Diego being their only tussle with a team with a winning record.

But Denver’s opponents are not the problem. The Broncos themselves are the problem. This is a team with exciting young players and a bright future, but they need to quickly forget the disaster in Chicago or the future will be like the final five minutes of Sunday’s game.

Lewis needs to keep winning
The NFL coaching carousel may be fairly slow in January. There may be just a handful of coaching changes. With few coaches on the hot seat, which coach’s seat is the warmest? It’s got to be Marvin Lewis. His team has to keep winning or there will likely be a change in Cincinnati.

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The Bengals got off to a good start to help Lewis keep his job by throttling the free-falling Titans on Sunday. But the Bengals have to keep it up beginning Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

Cincinnati has been a major disappointment this year. They were supposed to vie for a playoff spot, but at 4-7, they are going nowhere. What puts Lewis most in peril is that his defense has been horrible. It has not improved even though Lewis is a defensive guru. Add discipline issues and Lewis is likely on his way out unless the Bengals continue to play like they did last week.  Of course, there has been little evidence that this team can sustain excellence.

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