Shannon Sharpe can hardly recognize what has become of his beloved Denver Broncos.
The Broncos hit the bottom of the Mariana Trench on Sunday, getting utterly annihilated by the Miami Dolphins by a final of 70-20 (yes, you read that right). The Dolphins fell just two points shy of the NFL’s all-time record for points scored in a game (72 by the then-Washington Redskins in 1966). They produced 726 yards of total offense and ten touchdowns against the hapless Broncos defense — and without receiver Jaylen Waddle to boot.
After the game, which marked the most points scored in Dolphins franchise history and the most points allowed in Broncos franchise history, ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe lit into the Broncos in a post to X.

“Broncos country, I’m incredibly sorry and embarrassed by this PATHETIC F’ING EFFORT by our Broncos,” Sharpe wrote. “THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. 2 give up 70 pts in a NFL GM with a 300 hundred yd passer 150 yd receiver, a 200 yd rusher in the same gm is ‘UNCONSCIONABLE.'”
Broncos country, I’m incredibly sorry and embarrassed by this PATHETIC F’ING EFFORT by our Broncos. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. 2 give up 70 pts in a NFL GM with a 300 hundred yd passer 150 yd receiver, a 200 yd rusher in the same gm is “UNCONSCIONABLE”🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬#NFLSunday
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) September 24, 2023
The Pro Football Hall of Famer Sharpe played for the Broncos from 1990-99 and helped set a standard of excellence in Denver. He made seven Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams as Bronco, helping the team win back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.
But the Broncos of the present day could not be any further away from that. Sunday’s comical loss dropped them to 0-3 on the season (following up a 2022 campaign where they went 5-12).
Even Terrell Davis, Sharpe’s former teammate and fellow Broncos great, chimed in on the humiliating defeat. “Embarrassing!!!” Davis tweeted.
Embarrassing!!!
— Terrell Davis (@Terrell_Davis) September 24, 2023
If there is any silver lining for Denver, it is that they were competitive in the first two games of the season (only losing by a combined three points) and that nobody is really running away with the AFC West just yet. But after an offseason where there was a lot of talk about the Broncos being able to turn around their fortunes … so far, so bad.