The Denver Broncos went 1-2 in their three-game road trip and slipped from darling of the West into a bitter battle for the division.
Just weeks after being viewed as the consensus best team in the AFC, the Broncos are now tied, record-wise, with the Kansas City Chiefs and sit well behind the Patriots in the race for the No. 1 seed.
Peyton Manning said the team needed to show more earnestness in facing the final six games of the season.
"Just your sense of urgency has to increase,'' Manning said Wednesday, per ESPN.com. "Realizing there aren't many games left and we better get on it, better get going. Need to play better, I need to play better. ... You can say all you want, you can talk about doing it, but you've got to go and do it.''
Manning made sure to say he does believe the Broncos have been playing with plenty of drive.
"I don't think we've not been playing with fire, ... I just thought offensively it wasn't a lack of fire, it was a lack of execution,'' he said. "That starts with me, got to play better. I certainly think there's plenty of fire there, but you've got to have more than that.''
The Broncos host the playoff-hopefulMiami Dolphins (6-4) Sunday afternoon before next week's pivotal Sunday night tussle with the Chiefs for the division lead.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews Chiefs-Raiders and reacts to the drama in D.C. as well as Adrian Peterson's suspension. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
