Broncos vs. Titans 2016 final score: Offensive woes doom Broncos in 13-10 loss

The Tennessee Titans had been looking for a signature win to pair with an early-season victory over the Detroit Lions. On Sunday, they got it by shutting down an anemic Denver Broncos offense.

The Titans held Trevor Siemian and the Broncos to just 10 points in a key home victory that keeps their AFC South title hopes alive. Tennessee now shares the top spot in the division with the Houston Texans.

Things look a bit more grim for Denver in the AFC West. The Broncos led the division through a 4-0 start, but have gone 4-5 since as teams have capitalized on the team’s ineffective offense.

Tennessee, a team that allowed the Cleveland Browns’ Cody Kessler to throw for 336 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 28-26 win earlier in the season, limited Siemian to just 6.5 yards per pass attempt on Sunday. Broncos’ special teamer Riley Dixon, who threw a 16-yard pass on a fake punt in the third quarter, finished the game with a passer rating more than 25 points higher than the team’s starting quarterback.

Though Siemian eventually threw for over 300 yards, a pair of fumbles ultimately decided Denver’s fate in Nashville. Justin Forsett’s first carry as a Bronco ended about as poorly as it could have, as the 2014 Pro Bowler put the ball on the turf and ceded possession to the defense at the Denver 40. Five plays later, the Titans converted his turnover into a 53-yard Ryan Succop field goal.

The second fumble shut the door on any hope of a comeback. The Broncos held tough after Tennessee drove into Denver territory, putting the ball back in Siemian’s hands for a game-tying or winning drive. Siemian pushed his offense from its own two-yard line out to the 29 before hitting tight end A.J. Derby with an 11-yard pass downfield.

But Derby couldn’t hold on to the ball, and his error was scooped up by Daimion Stafford. From there, all the Titans had to do was kneel out the clock.

Mistakes wasted another special performance from the Denver defense. Marcus Mariota had averaged 282 yards and nearly three passing touchdowns per game in his last four appearances while looking every bit the franchise quarterback Tennessee drafted him to be. On Sunday, Von Miller and company harassed him into a 6-of-20 performance and a pathetic 88 passing yards.

The Broncos’ strengths and weaknesses were on full display in Week 14. The team’s stifling defense shut down a dynamic Titans team and presented several opportunities to pull out a key road win. Denver’s offense found a way to squander each of them, whether it was through ineffective passing, a non-existent ground game (nine carries, 18 yards), or costly turnovers.

Those fatal flaws may drop the Broncos out of the playoff hunt — but on Sunday they were enough to keep Tennessee’s postseason hopes alive.