Nothing irks Broncos Country like the F word. Frauds? That’s a fighting word, pal. Quarterback Bo Nix and company are definitely not frauds. They’re one victory lap against the no-mas Chargers from earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. But right here, right now, the Broncos are n’t good enough to win the Super Bowl. This is not meant as disrespect to a 13-3 football team. It’s a challenge. “In this league, if you’re not improving, you’re getting worse. And it will show,” Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. The Broncos aren’t frauds. But as a championship contender, they’re definitely flawed. After a recent 34-20 loss to Jacksonville, coach Sean Payton said the words that must resonate with this young, hungry and scrappy team every day, if the Broncos want to take the field on Super Bowl Sunday in February. “Part of this process,” Payton wisely said after getting physically beaten by the Jaguars, “is not fooling ourselves.” So instead of fooling ourselves, let’s keep it real. “Coach Payton’s deal is really cool,” Joseph said. “The more we’ve won, the harder he has been on everyone.” Champions aren’t afraid to look for warts in the mirror. This Denver offense is meh. At best. During the past seven games, the Broncos have won six times, despite scoring an unimpressive 16 touchdowns with their offense on the field. And only two of those tuddies have been on plays of more than 20 yards. No matter how Payton searches his playsheet, it’s hard to find any explosiveness in this attack. These Broncos are plow horses, not thoroughbreds. If Buffalo comes into Denver during the playoffs and quarterback Josh Allen gets on a heater, we know Nix will refuse to fold, but would he have the weapons to stay in the fight? A dominant offensive line can’t hide the fact that rookie RJ Harvey too often fails to exploit the space he’s afforded by solid blocking. He’s averaging 3.9 yards per carry. No more rookie excuses. Either Harvey grows up fast, or the Broncos need to give Jaleel McLaughlin more touches. Courtland Sutton and the receiving crew do Nix no favors by turning too many completions into drops. Nobody confuses him with Puka Nacua, but on third down in the playoffs, Sutton will need to be elite. “The drops are a big thing we’re trying to clean up,” Denver offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said. “Hit the big plays when they’re presented to us.” A championship-caliber defense has begun to show signs of weariness from loading too much lumber on the Broncos bandwagon. Through 11 games, Joseph became the hottest assistant in the league, because Nik Bonitto and the fellas were wreaking havoc, allowing a stingy 17.5 points per game. In the past five games, the same defense has looked more vulnerable, allowing 23.3 points per game. “For the last month and a half, my message to our guys has been the things we wouldn’t tolerate in losses, we don’t tolerate in wins,” Joseph said. The Broncos sack the quarterback at a nearly unprecedented rate in league history. But they seldom win the turnover battle in a way that can decide a tight playoff game. Denver ranks 25th in the league at minus-5 in takeaways. “I want more turnovers,” Joseph said. “We need more turnovers.” Earning the No. 1 seed does more than give the Broncos home-field advantage and reduce the number of weeks when they must bring their A game in the playoffs. It gives them a week off. The rest is good for weary bones. Between now and the Super Bowl, the Broncos will not survive and advance if they fail to improve and grow. “You can improve an awful lot week to week,” Joseph said. “And that’s not just coach talk.”   A bye week without a playoff game would give the Broncos a chance to go back to school. This is where football gets serious, champions hone their craft and players steel their will to stand fearlessly when foes are aiming for them. ...read more read less