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The Broncos have a good enough defense to contend, if they could get a median level of help from their offense.

The fact they didn’t last night, and the fact an offensive player tried to speak after the game triggered a shouting match in the locker room after their 16-3 loss to the Patriots.

According to Michael Silver of the NFL Network, when Gary Kubiak asked if any players wanted to speak to the team before reporters were allowed in for interviews, left tackle Russell Okung stepped up. Before he could get very far, he was shouted down by cornerback Aqib Talib, who didn’t want to hear from a side of the ball which did nothing against a defense which isn’t nearly as good as their own.

“Pretty much your classic offense vs. defense divide,” said one Denver player.

Talib calling out an underperformer isn’t new, and perhaps on Okung’s size kept him from shoving him like he did return man Jordan Norwood after a pair of muffed punts against the Chiefs. Gary Kubiak had to work quickly to handle that one, and will likely have another such job on his hands today.

“I definitely understand their frustration,” Okung said. “They played well enough to win, and they held that team to 16 points, which a lot of teams don’t do. We’re an emotional team; that’s what makes us so good. To me, that’s part of who we are.

“When our defense is out there, they’re an emotional group, and they hold themselves to a high standard. As an offense, we need to do the same. So, I think [their frustration] is warranted. We’ve got to be better.”

Safety T.J. Ward said: “What happened wasn’t even anything major — just a little frustration. We’re all trying to win.”

But if they’re pointing fingers at one another after another loss (which dropped them to 8-6 and leaves them needing help to make the playoffs), it also shows how fine the margin is on their personnel plan, since they could count on at least competent offense last year with Peyton Manning on his last legs.