5 Broncos players on thin ice after embarrassing loss to Lions

4. The defensive line

You have to give a little bit of grace because, obviously, the Detroit Lions have a really great offensive line. The Lions have invested a lot in that offensive line, and those guys have played a lot of games together. Their chemistry is great and the Broncos aren't the only team to be victimized by that line.

Unfortunately, the Broncos' defensive line was made an example of against Detroit's offensive line, and the discrepancy in talent was made abundantly clear. The Lions not only ran all over the Broncos to the tune of 185 yards at 6.6 yards per carry, but they stifled the Broncos' pass rush. Sure, Jared Goff was sacked twice, but for the most part, the Broncos had a hard time getting any pressure on Goff, especially from the defensive line.

5. Anyone missing tackles

If you want to assess blame to individual players in the missed tackle department, be my guest. But this performance by the defense -- as a whole -- was awful. Like I said before, it was reminiscent of the Dolphins debacle earlier this season...

There's no debate: 17 missed tackles in a single game is outrageous. It simply can't happen. And even after a nine-game stretch of dominance from the Denver Broncos' defense, you can't help but panic a little bit if you're a Broncos fan when you think about the idea that the Dolphins version of the defense could rear its ugly heaad at any given time.

Hopefully, this game against Detroit will be an opportunity to refocus.