Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

October 18, 2018 at 12:09 am.

LB Miller guarantees Broncos victory

This is shaping up as a make or break game for the 2-4 Denver Broncos, who enter Thursday night’s contest at Arizona (1-5) mired in a four-game losing streak. The season seems to be slipping away in a manner that is bringing back memories of last year, when the Broncos started 3-1 only to fall off a cliff and lose eight straight en route to a 5-11 finish.

General manager John Elway heaped pressure this week on his beleaguered team and coaching staff by suggesting in a radio interview that he hoped to see the Broncos “take a mentality into that Thursday night game where we’re fighting for our lives.”

Elway added, “At some point in time we have to play better football … we’re still making the mistakes we shouldn’t make.”

The coaches and players get where Elway is coming from because mistakes and poor play have characterized the Broncos, especially in the last two weeks and nothing suggests they can take lightly an Arizona team that has just one win in six games. Denver has been plagued by a multitude of problems, from a lack of discipline that brought on penalties that cost them points to an offense that seems to move the ball well until it gets close to scoring territory and starts sputtering.

Defensively, the Broncos stop the pass one week but are a sieve when it comes to the run. The issues have fueled a team-wide frustration and linebacker Von Miller for one is intent on taking it out in a smash-mouth sort of way on the Cardinals.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a must-win (game),” Miller said. “We’re going to kick their ass though. Make sure you put that up there, we’re going to kick their ass. They’re going to get our best this week. Last week was tough, the week before that, whatever. This week, Thursday night, prime time, they’re going to get the Broncos’ best.”

SERIES HISTORY: 11th regular-season meeting. Broncos lead series, 8-1-1. The most recent game was a 41-20 win by Denver in 2014. The Broncos have gone 3-1-1 on the road against the Cardinals.