The Denver Broncos are probably going to miss the postseason. Denver fell into ninth in the playoff hunt after an ugly 16-3 loss to the Patriots at home on Sunday, and things are getting pretty heated as a result.

According to Mike Silver of NFL.com, a locker room brawl nearly broke out between the offense and defense after the game before the media came in, with Russell Okung trying to stand up and deliver a speech and Aqib Talib having none of it.

When the beaten Broncos spilled into the locker room, before the door was opened to reporters and other outsiders, coach Gary Kubiak gathered his players and asked if anyone wanted to address the team. Veteran left tackle Russell Okung, who signed with the Broncos last March, stepped forward to speak, and cornerback Aqib Talib strongly objected. According to several witnesses, that set off a spirited shouting match between the team's defensive backs and offensive linemen -- one which Kubiak had to diffuse before it turned ugly.

One Broncos player also told Silver it was basically a "classic offense versus defense divide" the team was and is dealing with.

That shouldn't be surprising, considering the Broncos are coming off a game in which they didn't allow Tom Brady to complete a pass in the first quarter, limited the high-powered Patriots to 16 points and consistently put the Denver offense in good position to take advantage of an A-plus outing from the defense.

The offense couldn't do it, mustering just three points.

"I definitely understand their frustration," Okung told Silver after the encounter. "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."

The Broncos won the Super Bowl last year because the defense played just well enough to overcome the offense's limitations. This year it looks like that will be too much to ask.

The New York Times' Upshot model gives the Broncos only a 16 percent chance to make the playoffs, while FiveThirtyEight gives them 17 percent. The Broncos have a tough stretch to finish out, playing at Kansas City in Week 16 and hosting Oakland in Week 17.

They're currently the ninth seed in the AFC, so they've got to jump some folks in order to get back in the dance. No one understands the importance of just get in quite like the Broncos, who weren't a favorite to win last year with a questionable Peyton Manning/Brock Osweiler quarterback situation.

But they made the postseason and actually secured the top seed, because football is weird. They then blasted through all the offenses who got in their way. The defense won them a Super Bowl title.

This year it probably won't be the case, and everyone knows where the fingers should be pointed.