This Nathaniel Hackett Quote in L.A. Shows Why Broncos Fired Him

The Denver Broncos were not prepared for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

In the aftermath of the Denver Broncos' unacceptable 51-14 blowout defeat to the Los Angeles Rams on national television, the only real solace is that fans finally reached the end of the road with head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

The Broncos fired Hackett on Monday morning. 

Broncos Country waited patiently for the wheels to fly off the wagon, and on Sunday against the Rams, it happened in grand style. Post-game, Hackett bizarrely admitted his team wasn't ready for the challenge of facing the reigning Super Bowl Champions in a Week 16 regular-season game.

"We went in with this mindset that we were going to be able to win this game, but in the end, we weren't ready," Hackett said post-game. "We didn't do the things that we were looking to do. And in that case, it wasn't good enough. Those guys know that. They know it's all of us."

The clichés about how the Broncos' fractured locker room quit on Hackett and highly-paid quarterback Russell Wilson. At this juncture, there's no point in disguising that at the very epicenter of Denver's ugly Christmas collapse was Wilson's abysmal turnover-riddled performance.

Wilson continues to inexplicably look about as washed up as you could imagine — without mercifully throwing in the towel. He and the Broncos are now tied to each other like a chain is to its anchor, but it remains terrifyingly still possible that the veteran QB has yet to hit rock bottom. 

As overused as Wilson's cliches have been this season, the overall tone of his delivery has changed markedly. He sounds more reflective than ever before. 

"It's been a storm all year and not what we hoped for, not what we dreamed for," Wilson said post-game. "But it doesn't mean that's going end that way for years to come, and we have to change it. And like I said, it starts with me, and I'm going be the first one to make sure I do everything I can and that we can to change it, and that's what we'll do. You can't change the past. I mean, how good the past has been, how bad it's been, whatever it may be, all you can do is be in the moment right now. And this moment tonight was a tough one. You know, we didn't expect to play this way, and we worked our butts off all week, and we didn't do well."

What happens next for the Broncos? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second and sign up for our free newsletter and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Whether or not Wilson can recover his lost mojo will drive how the Broncos' front office pursues a successor for Hackett. As for the here and now, it's crystal clear that the harder Wilson presses, the worse it gets.

It's also highly likely that Wilson's insistence that somehow collective amnesia can solve at least some of their problems will not sit easily with a fan base that finds it much harder to forgive and forget.

"The biggest thing that we can do is have amnesia," Wilson said. "Anytime games like that, you have to be able to learn from it. Know, the reality is we can't spot people points like that basically and give them a short field, and we have to respond. We've got two games left, and this team, everybody's battling. And so we got two games left, and we have to go be great in the next two games."

---

Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.

Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!

Get your Broncos tickets from SI Tickets HERE!