The Denver Broncos lost to  the San Diego Chargers Sunday in a 32-3 blowout. Just one month ago, the Broncos had a 3.5 game lead over the Chargers in the AFC West. After starting 6-0 the Broncos looked to be headed to the playoffs, now making the playoffs looks to be highly unlikely. The loss Sunday puts the Broncos in second place in the west, one game behind San Diego. The Chargers now have a record of 7-3 and the Broncos are 6-4 after losing 4 straight games.

The Broncos have lost games to the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers in consecutive weeks. In these games, the Broncos have been far from the team that started 6-0 to start the season. The Broncos have struggled mightily on offense and the defense appears to be average at best. Injuries have played a big part in the 4-game losing streak, but mistakes and poor play are just as much to blame. Yesterday against the Chargers, the Broncos were penalized 9 times to the Chargers 1 penalty. Also in the last 4 games, the Broncos have made costly turnovers and have failed to score many points (Denver has been outscored 97-37).

As a lifetime fan, I'd like to think the Broncos can turnaround just as quickly as they did a month ago. The problem with this is the schedule going forward is very difficult. The last 6 games are as follows:

• Home vs. New York Giants (6-4)
• @ Kansas City (3-7)
• @ Indianapolis (10-0)
• Home vs. Oakland (3-7)
• @ Philadelphia (6-4)
• Home vs. Kansas City (3-7)

Based on the remaining games, the Broncos should be happy with a 3-3 finish. This would put them at 9-6 for the season. It's still possible the Broncos could catch the Chargers to win the AFCWest, but San Diego is one of the hottest teams in football over thelast month. 9 wins would likely be too few to make the playoffs as a wild card. The teams fighting for a wild card birth are as follows:

• Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) and have tiebreaker because they beat the Broncos.
• Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4)
• Houston Texans (5-4) they play tonight and will either be 6-4 or 5-5.
• Baltimore Ravens (5-5) they also have tiebreaker as they beat the Broncos
• Miami Dolphins (5-5)

Can the Broncos make the playoffs?
What has been the biggest reason for the Broncos 4 game losing streak?