Melvin Gordon has expressed his frustration after the Denver Broncos missed out on the playoffs despite having what he believes is a roster good enough to reach the Super Bowl.
The Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs in their final game of the 2021 season on Saturday sitting at 7-9, certain to miss the postseason and end up with a losing record.
They lost 34-13 to the Los Angeles Chargers last week, part of a three-game streak which also contained losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders, scuppering their hopes of reaching the playoffs.
Gordon will be a free agent at the end of the season, with head coach Vic Fangio also facing an uncertain future, and the running back cannot believe how the season is ending.
"You sit back and get frustrated because we are so much better than what our record shows," Gordon said to SI.com.
"It's frustrating. It's frustrating as a player, as coaches, as an organization. It's frustrating.
"We're such a good football team. So talented across the board it is ridiculous. For us to be sitting here and not having a chance for the playoffs, all that work you put into the offseason, it's tough to say the least.
"After the Raiders game, I was so mad, just because I was thinking about from the D-line, from the secondary, from our receivers, tight ends, the linemen we have – young but yet a lot of moxie.
"Running backs, even the ones, the twos, the threes, even the guys that don't get as much love, the linebackers – it was so frustrating because it's such a well-built team. It's a Super Bowl team."
Gordon has formed a strong rushing attack with rookie Javonte Williams – both players rank in the top 13 in the NFL for rushes of 10+ yards – while the team's defense has only allowed 268 offensive points in 16 games, good for second in the NFL behind only the New England Patriots (250).
But the quarterback position and passing attack has again proved problematic for the Broncos.
After Drew Lock's struggles in 2020, this year's starting QB Teddy Bridgewater's yards per attempt rate of 7.16 ranks in the bottom half (17th) of the league and Courtland Sutton is the team's top receiver with just 763 yards.
The Chiefs (11-5), meanwhile, will go into Saturday's game still in with a chance of being the number one seeds in the AFC.
They must beat the Broncos and will then be reliant on the Tennessee Titans dropping their game at the Houston Texans one day later.