LONDON — The past two weeks, against the Chargers and Jets, Broncos safety and team captain Justin Simmons said those games were “must-wins.” 

And, after four losses in a row, Simmons said it again this week in London as the 2-5 Broncos face the 2-5 Jaguars, with both teams’ seasons on the line. 

“I’ve said it a few times, Chargers’ week we were heading to LA for the Monday night game was a must-win, but I mean this, this one’s the biggest game,” Simmons said Wednesday “By far, a chance for us to get a win heading into the bye… To give ourselves a fighting chance to get into the playoffs. But all that starts with this game, on Sunday. Finding a way to win. We have to walk out of this stadium with a win.”

Simmons is right, Sunday is the biggest game of the season so far. Since 1990, only eight teams have reached the playoffs after a 2-5 start, with the 2021 Eagles being the last to do so. Philadelphia finished their season going 9-8 and sneaking into the playoffs as a wild-card team. No team that has started the season 2-6 has gone onto make the playoffs in NFL history. 

According to FiveThirtyEight, the Broncos have 6% chance to make the playoffs. Still, the Broncos believe they can still make a run. 

“I do believe in this football team, and I do believe in the people in our building — our coaching staff,” GM George Paton said. “We can turn it around. It’s only seven games. We’ve been in every game, [but] that’s not what it’s all about. It’s about winning games. We need to learn how to win football games. We haven’t done that.”

If the Broncos want to turn things around, the offense has to start heading in the right direction. The defense is arguably the best in the NFL and has kept Denver in every game, with four of their five losses being by single digits. The offense, however, is the arguably the worst in the NFL, averaging a league-low 14.3 points per game. They’re on pace to have the second lowest scoring offense in franchise history. 

“I think a lot of newness — a new coaching staff, a lot of new players, new quarterback, new schemes,” Paton said. “It doesn’t come all together. I knew it wasn’t going to be a well-oiled machine. I thought it would take time. It has, but there’s a lot we have to work on. Then you have some injuries on offense. Our staff is trying to learn each other, and our players are trying to learn each other. It’s just a lot.

“No excuses — we need to play better. The offense hasn’t been good enough to win games. Defense has kept us in it, but the offense has to play better.”

The “newness” is certainly a valid excuse. But it can’t be one forever for the Broncos. They’re nearing the halfway point of the season. And a loss on Sunday would pretty much end their season, as the trade deadline approaches and multiple key players possibly being sent elsewhere if the Broncos lose. 

That’s why the urgency has never been higher for the Broncos, whether it’s in Denver or London. 

“The urgency is always there,” Hackett said. “It doesn’t matter whether you won last week or lost last week. It’s always continuously going to be urgent.”