Everything changes when the wins fade and the losses pile up. The narrative changes, frustration builds, the cheers turn to jeers and the vicious cycle spins with no clear end in sight.

The Broncos know this because they’re living it. They’ve experienced the highest of highs in winning Super Bowl 50 with a historically elite defense. And they’re experiencing a low that most on the roster have never faced as a Bronco or as a pro: a four-game losing streak.

And awaiting them is a meeting Sunday against the Super Bowl champion Patriots, who have the NFL’s best offense.

“It’ll be good if the fans still believe,” running back C.J. Anderson said of returning home following a three-game road stretch. “We get a lot of things on social media whether they believe or not. We need them out there, 76-77,000 strong, yelling, being loud, disrupting (Tom) Brady and his calls. It feels good to come home and have some home cooking.”

Behind the scenes, the Broncos are desperately seeking answers to correct all that has gone wrong. They say they still believe and still see an opportunity to get their season back on track, though they know their time may soon expire.

They admit they were “embarrassed on national television” after allowing 51 points and nearly 420 yards to the Eagles last Sunday.

They admit there’s been finger-pointing and frustration.

They admit that they, like the fans they hear from on social media, are upset.

“So don’t think any of us are taking it lightly,” outside linebacker Shane Ray said. “We’re all just as pissed as the fan base and everybody else. We’re mad, but we’re trying to figure it out.”

As the Broncos have watched their 2-0 start spiral into a 3-5 record, players have convened often on their own. Defensive players meet Thursdays and Fridays, Ray said, and the discussions are honest. Brutally honest.

“We’re basically trying to have the communication on point,” he said. “… We’re all right here to talk about it and that’s been the big emphasis these last couple of weeks because we need to communicate. We all need to be on the same page. Whatever the call is, we all need to run it, we all need to execute it. That’s really where it’s been at.

“It’s a very blunt meeting. If I miss an assignment, I’m getting called out on my assignment in front of my whole team, my defense. If I was supposed to do this and I cost us a big play, that’s seen. So it keeps the truth, it keeps the realness because when you start losing and things start looking bad you get guys that point fingers at everybody.”

Last Sunday in Philadelphia, Ray was penalized for neutral-zone infractions twice, both on Eagles’ scoring drives. The Broncos collectively had 14 penalties for a loss of 105 yards.

The defense, typically consistent and suffocating no matter the struggles of the offense, had their worst outing since 2010 and they took ownership. They also let each other know what went wrong and where.

“If you’re in a room with everybody, you can’t disguise yourself. No,” Ray said. “You were supposed to do this. We were supposed to do this. Now everybody knows. This is the communication. It’s not a single thing anymore. That’s what makes the difference. We’re just being real, we’re being pros … With the way the record is, we can’t sugarcoat stuff. Things have to change and be fixed now.”

Immediately after the Broncos’ loss 51-23 loss in Philadelphia, coach Vance Joseph seemed to question his players’ fight, and whether they quit when the Eagles’ lead ballooned. A day later, after reviewing the film, he said he didn’t question his players’ effort. But he did question his players pressing to make plays and “freelancing.”

“Yeah, that’s a problem,” Ray admitted. “When we look at film and you see a guy that’s not doing his job, that’s a problem. And it’s addressed.

“Like, we got in the meeting, I jumped offsides twice. … It cost the team. That’s uncharacteristic of me to do that. but I’m so frustrated (that) I’m trying to do this, I’m trying to do that — I can’t do that. That’s me being out of character, that’s me freelancing. I need to do my job, watch the ball and make my play within the snap. … It’s little stuff like that that clouds the big picture when you make little mistakes like that.” Related Articles Week 2 NFL Picks: After winning debut, Cam Newton leads Patriots to Seattle

Broncos Insider: Looking at Denver’s age, experience and size comparative to rest of NFL

Jeremiah Attaochu’s American Dream: From immigrant to NFL veteran

Keeler: Jerry Jeudy, can Broncos fans trust you? Drew Lock needs all the friends he can find.

Jackson: Silence at empty Broncos, NFL stadiums never sounded so terrible

Joseph said Wednesday that he believes the Patriots’ impending arrival is perfect timing. The Broncos need a win to restore hope and, despite New England’s 6-2 record, top-ranked offense and future Hall of Fame quarterback, a win against one of the best could be a season-changer.

Until that happens, Denver will continue to search for answers.

“When everything is fine and dandy, it’s not as much of an emphasis because obviously when you’re winning, things are happening right. Guys are doing their jobs right,” Ray said. “When it’s down and bad, you better not be coming in here with a good attitude and be happy, like we didn’t just get blown out by 30 points. We got to fix things.

“When everything’s going wrong, some guys may have the answer, some guys may do this. It’s a frustrating thing because we’re losing.”

Player spotlight, numbers to watch for Broncos-Patriots

Aqib Talib, Broncos CB

The skinny: The Broncos have struggled to defend tight ends, from what Dallas’ Jason Witten posted (97 yards, one touchdown) in Week 2, to Kansas City’s Travis Kelce (133 yards and a touchdown) in Week 8. Last weekend, even though starter Zach Ertz was out with an injury, Philadelphia’s Brent Celek and Trey Burton combined for 80 yards and a touchdown. Next up is one of — if not the — most challenging tight ends to cover in the NFL: New England’s Rob Gronkowski. Which begs the question from the Broncos: Will Aqib Talib be tasked with covering The Gronk?

The background: Talib is coming off arguably one of his worst games as a Bronco, along with Denver’s entire defense. The Broncos’ allowed 51 points and 419 net yards to the Eagles. According to Pro Football Focus, Talib allowed four of the five targets thrown his way to be caught for 64 yards and two touchdowns. But Talib and the Broncos’ “No Fly Zone” secondary have typically come up big against the Patriots. Last November, they held Tom Brady to a mere 188 passing yards and zero passing touchdowns. In the 2015 AFC Championship, Brady completed only 48 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions. Patriots’ week could be Talib’s rebound week.

Broncos’ take: “He’s been locked in. If you know him, he’s so competitive,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “He didn’t have a great game last week, none of us did. You can tell how he’s worked in practice this week. He’s kind of quiet, when he gets quiet, he’s kind of focused on his job and he wants to play well this week.”

Patriots’ take: “Aqib is a great player. Tremendous competitor,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “I have so much respect for him. he’s just a great football player. Tackles well, is tough, is really smart, great ball skills, can handle the big receivers, can handle the quick receivers, very crafty in his disguises and some of the technique he uses out there, he’s a very tough guy for the quarterback to read or to fool. So he’s as good as we play against. It’s really challenging to throw the ball in their secondary period, but especially Talib. He’s just an outstanding player.”

Numbers to Know

411.1: Average net yards by the Patriots this season, the most in the NFL. New England is also tops with 302.1 net passing yards per game.

417: Net yards allowed per game by New England’s defense, ranking 32nd in the NFL.

3-7: Tom Brady’s record in Denver, playoffs included.

10-21: Patriots’ all-time record in Denver, including postseasons (0-4).

7.5: Sacks by Von Miller in his last six games (playoffs included) against the Patriots. He also recorded two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception in those games.

660 and 7: Receiving yards and touchdowns by Gronkowski in seven career games (playoffs included) against the Broncos. Gronkowski has recorded a touchdown in each of his last four games vs. Denver.