The Denver Broncos have been mathematically eliminated from the NFL playoffs. On Monday, they eliminated their coach from the payroll.
Such is life for the once-proud Denver franchise, which begins to play out the string Sunday with a road game against the equally inept Arizona Cardinals.
Josh McDaniels was relieved of his duties after going 11-17 during his brief tenure in Denver. He was a Mile High after the Broncos started 6-0 in 2009, but five wins in the last 22 games sealed his fate.
Running backs coach Eric Studesville will serve as interim coach for the final four games of the season.
How the Broncos respond is anyone’s guess, but teams tend to increase their level of play after a coach is fired - at least for a week.
Both teams are 3-9. Believe it or not, the Cardinals, who have lost seven in a row, are still alive in the NFC West as the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks (6-6) lead the division.
The Cardinals’ season has been riddled with problems on both sides of the ball.
Quarterback Derek Anderson suffered a concussion during Arizona’s 19-6 loss to St. Louis on Sunday. Backup Max Hall relieved him, but dislocated his left shoulder and is out for the season.
Third-stringer John Skelton took over and was 3 of 6 for 45 yards in his NFL debut. Skelton is a 6-foot-5, 244-pound rookie, and the first quarterback drafted from Fordham University.
Anderson was not been cleared to return to practice, so Skelton will make his first start. It looks like a manageable spot as the Broncos’ defense is 27th in the NFL in yardage and 30th in sacks with 18.
The Cardinals’ offense, though, ranks 31st in the NFL with 16.7 points and 265.3 yards per game.
Anderson was already having a tough season. He has completed 51.7 percent of his passes, with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The Cardinals are 30th in the NFL in turnover ratio at minus-10 and 28th in defense by yardage. They are also last in points allowed at 28.2 and 31st in rushing defense at 80.2 yards.
The Broncos aren’t much better. They are 29th in both rushing defense at 86.2 yards per game and in points allowed at 27.8.
Denver’s Knowshon Moreno was slowed by a hamstring injury during the first half of the season, but has rushed for 381 yards in his last four games.
Moreno had a career-high 161 yards in last week’s 10-6 loss at Kansas City, and had his first career 100-yard game in the Broncos’ 49-29 victory over the Chiefs in Week 10.
Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton is coming off his worst game of the season when he completed 9 of 28 passes for 117 yards. Orton, though, is still having a career year. He has 20 touchdown passes against four interceptions and is fourth in the NFL with 3,487 yards.
The Broncos are 7-0-1 all-time against the Cardinals, including a 37-20 victory at Arizona in 2006.