It is not just that the Broncos now face the likelihood of blowing a division title that looked like a lock just two weeks ago. It is that they proved so definitively they don't deserve it.

It was all in their hands Sunday, on their own field against an opponent that had lost seven of eight and had nothing to play for. An opponent they led 13-0 early in the second quarter.

And they kicked it away. Literally, figuratively and any other way you can blow the big one.

So the doomsday scenario arrived after all. We discussed this earlier, but when the Broncos won and the Chargers lost three weeks ago, the Broncos had a three-game lead with three to play. Doomsday was merely a nightmare.

Welcome to Elm Street. The Broncos are now one road loss from a historic and indelible collapse.

For which, let's face it, they have no one to blame but themselves. They lost to the Chiefs (2-13) and Raiders (4-11). They lost Sunday to a Bills team that had beaten only those woeful Chiefs over the last two months.

If the Chargers beat them next week in San Diego, they will tie the Broncos at 8-8 and win the division by virtue of a better division record because they didn't lose to the Chiefs and Raiders.

Twenty-four hours ago, the Broncos stood to become only the fifth team to lead its division from wire to wire in the 16-game era. Now we'll have to figure out if they could be the first team ever to lead its division for 15 weeks, then lose it in the last game.

Again Sunday the Broncos made lies of the game statistics, dominating the yardage battle and still losing the war.

Again, this allowed them to rationalize their play on both sides of the ball. Offense? Hey, they gained 532 yards and led in first downs, total plays and time of possession. They must be doing something right.

Defense? Hey, they held the Bills to a mere 275 yards, barely half their own total.

"I feel like if you hold a team under 300 yards, they shouldn't get 30 points," said Champ Bailey. "So, obviously, the hidden yardage is the kicking game. We've got to pick it up."

That will be the designated scapegoat for the week. The Bills came into the game second in the NFL in kickoff returns and the Broncos did nothing to slow them down.

A short fourth-quarter kickoff backfired, giving Buffalo field position at the Broncos 45-yard line, but let's not forget the defense then proceeded to give up consecutive plays of 16, 11, 10 and 8 yards for the winning touchdown.

The key mistake came near the end of the first half when a Broncos drive stalled at the Buffalo 36. Mike Shanahan called on kicker Matt Prater to try a 54-yard field goal. Prater was 5-for-5 from beyond 50 yards coming in, but those kicks were all much earlier in the season, when the weather and Prater's confidence were both more auspicious.

"Obviously, it didn't turn out to be the right decision," Shanahan said. "We were stopping them pretty good at that time. I think they had three, four first downs up to that point."

Three is correct, including none in a first quarter the Broncos thoroughly dominated. As is his habit, Shanahan wanted to keep his foot on the gas and not play conservatively with a lead.

Still, the risk/reward profile was badly skewed. The reward was 16-3 instead of 13-3. The risk was what happened.

"The wind was blowing pretty good," Shanahan said. "If it was the other way, I felt like it was a 10-yard difference. So I didn't think the distance was a question."

What? Was he watching Prater's kickoffs? The strong-legged rookie gets touchbacks on more than a quarter of his kickoffs. Kicking frozen bricks Sunday, he couldn't reach the Buffalo 5.

So the 54-yard attempt fell short. Even assuming a touchback on a punt, the Bills would have had to go 80 yards in two minutes, their offense having struggled mightily to that point.

Instead, they got the ball near midfield with 1:55 left in the half. Buffalo used all but 11 seconds of it to drive for its first touchdown.

Having been outgained 268 yards to 95 in the first half, the Bills trailed by only three points. And it was all downhill from there.

"It's been a roller coaster for us all year," Jay Cutler said. "So this should be pretty normal for us. We win a few, we lose a few, we win maybe a few that we're not supposed to and come back and lose one at home we shouldn't. So it's par for the course at this point."

Even so, the Chargers should put them out of their misery next week. The Broncos proved Sunday they are not yet ready for the big time.