Following a 27-17 loss to the Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos fans are starting to panic.

When this team made the trip to D.C. to face the 2-6 Redskins, a team many believed to be in complete disarray, the Broncos were supposed to get back on track with a much needed win after a two game losing streak.

Make that a three-game losing streak as the Denver Broncos suffered yet another second-half debacle against Ladell Betts and the Redskins.

It didn't start off bad at all for the Broncos, who led 14-7 after two first-quarter bombs from Kyle Orton to wide receiver Brandon Marshall resulted in 40- and 75-yard TD strikes. Marshall beat the coverage, if you can call it that, on two passing plays and the Broncos took advantage in a big way. The Redskins' coverage was extremely poor in the first half, and Orton nearly connected on a third long pass play to wide receiver Eddie Royal, but overshot him.

That proved to be an enormous mistake.

On fourth-and-20 in the second quarter, the Broncos gave up arguably the most embarrassing play of the year on a fake field goal, fake punt pass from holder Hunter Smith to fullback Mike Sellers for a 35- yard score.

Following that horrible mistake by Denver's field-goal coverage unit, Kyle Orton marched his team right down the field for a huge drive right before halftime, and on the last play before Matt Prater's chip shot field goal, Orton hurt his ankle during a short scramble. He didn't return for the rest of the contest, and that proved to be extremely costly for Denver.

Chris Simms took the field in the second half, and the Bronco offense barely made it past the 50 yard line with him under center. Seeing his first significant playing time since suffering a life-threatening spleen injury in 2006 while a starter at Tampa Bay, Simms completed a dismal percentage of his passes. At the same time, the Broncos' defense allowed 13 points to Washington in the second half en route to their third straight loss.

To make matters even worse, the San Diego Chargers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 31-23 later that night, moving into a first-place tie with Denver in the AFC West.

Heading into their mid-season division showdown with San Diego, the Broncos and their fans are showing shades of late in 2008 when their team collapsed to lose a three-game lead in the AFC West and miss the playoffs. Are the Broncos of 2009 a similar team?

This is a team that has proven it can beat the AFC's best. It is also a team that can lose to the NFL's worst. It just goes to show the amount of parity in the NFL, as cliche' as it sounds, and how thin the margin is between winning and losing.

The Broncos will have Kyle Orton, according to NFL pundit Michael Lombardi, for their big game against San Diego. With him at quarterback, if he's able to play effectively, they have a good chance against San Diego.

This game shapes up as a turning point in the Broncos' season. They will be at home for the next two games, which will be played in a matter of five days. If they can win their next two home games, they are in very good shape for the final stretch run of the season. This team is much, much better than they have played the last three games, and they need to put up or shut up against the Chargers this weekend, or they could see yet another three-game division lead slip away and the playoffs along with it.

--- SAYRE BEDINGER.