Broncos Deal Patriots Critical Blow : New England Can’t Help Itself to Playoff Spot in 21-10 Loss

Going nowhere, the Denver Broncos may have taken the New England Patriots with them.

Sammy Winder rushed for 2 touchdowns Saturday, and the Broncos, with no chance to gain the playoffs, dealt the Patriots’ wild-card hopes a near-fatal blow with a 21-10 victory.

“We haven’t had a game like this--with nothing on the line--in a long time,” Denver linebacker Jim Ryan said. “It was a little strange. We wanted to come out, play hard and have a little fun today.”

The Broncos (8-8) would wind up in a three-way tie for the American Football Conference Western Division title if the Raiders (7-8) beat the Seattle Seahawks (8-7) today, but Denver loses out on all tiebreakers for a playoff berth.

The Patriots (9-7) could have clinched a wild-card spot with a victory, but now Cleveland and Indianapolis both must lose today for New England to qualify for the playoffs. Denver’s victory gave Houston one wild-card place.

“I don’t know if odds count,” New England Coach Raymond Berry said of his team’s damaged playoff chances. “But I’d rather be in this position than none.

“We just didn’t play well, and I’m very disappointed. We drove 15 plays and didn’t score, and drove inside their 15-yard line again and came away with nothing. That’s a credit to the Denver defense.”

The Patriots, who limited their last two opponents to just two successful third-down conversions in 24 attempts, allowed Denver to convert on 7 of 15.

It has been speculated that several Denver coaches, most notably defensive coordinator Joe Collier and some other defensive assistants, might resign or be fired. Collier hinted to several of his players on Friday that the New England game might be his last for the Broncos.

Collier declined comment Saturday, but Reeves said: “The only person that hires and fires coaches in this organization is me. I have not thought about firing anybody, so if somebody wants to speculate, that’s just what it is--pure speculation. I’ll assess the situation and make a decision as quickly as I can.”

Winder and Tony Dorsett, who gained 86 yards, had short touchdown runs to stake Denver to a 14-10 halftime lead. New England scored on John Stephens’ 23-yard run in the first quarter and a 32-yard field goal by Jason Staurovsky just before halftime.

Roland James recovered Winder’s fumble at the Denver 29, but Staurovsky missed a 40-yard attempt on the last play of the half.

New England blew another scoring chance in the third quarter after Stephens ran 52 yards to the Denver 11. On fourth-and-one from the 2, quarterback Tony Eason overthrew Stephens deep in the end zone.

Twice in the second half, punter Mike Horan, the Broncos’ only selection to the Pro Bowl, pinned the Patriots at their 5-yard line.

After the second punt and New England’s inability to advance past its 18, the Broncos took possession and drove 58 yards for a clinching score with 9:18 left. Dorsett started the drive with a 15-yard run, John Elway completed two passes and Winder ran 17 yards up the middle to set up his 4-yard score.

With Steve Grogan replacing Eason, who suffered a knee injury, the Patriots mounted two scoring threats in the closing minutes--one ending on an end-zone interception by Tyrone Braxton and the other on downs.

Doug Flutie, who came on to quarterback the Patriots with 23 seconds left, got off a long pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Randy Robbins.

It was New England’s eighth straight loss in Denver.