SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Resting in the lockers of Broncos players at their Dove Valley training facility last week were folded, freshly printed gray T-shirts bearing “1-0” on the front and “DECEMBER READY” on the back. Their strategy to simply win each week worked and carried them through an improbable three-game win streak and back to .500.



But that message eluded them Sunday, as the Broncos imploded on a stage they once shined the brightest, losing to the lowly San Francisco 49ers 20-14 and nearly scuttling their playoff hopes along the way.



Denver, briefly a team on the rise under head coach Vance Joseph, quickly returned to a team in need of saving, a team that appeared lost and unprepared, a team that faltered against an opponent it should have handily defeated.



The somber locker room told the tale of deflated hopes; the Broncos face a final three-game stretch with a mandate to win out, but also a reality they’ll need...