Fangio critical of Broncos' red zone offense: 'We've got to get 7 not 3'

The Denver Broncos fell to the San Francisco 49ers in Monday night's preseason battle 25-14. The margin of loss was 11 points.

Had the Broncos converted their two trips to the red zone into touchdowns, instead of field goals, it would have changed the whole complexion of the game and the way it shook out in the final four minutes.

The Broncos were 0-for-2 in the red area. Meanwhile, the Niners were 2-for-4. Red-zone efficiency, like third-down efficiency and turnover differential, are major predictors of wins and losses, which is why head coach Vic Fangio knows that the Broncos have to make strides in that department offensively between now and the regular-season opener.

“I thought we did move the ball and made some critical plays," Fangio said following the game. "Joe [Flacco] made a nice third-down conversion off the scramble. I thought we had some pretty good, efficient play there in the early going with the offense, but again we’ve got to punch it in there and get seven not three.”

That's been one of the Broncos' most lackluster areas offensively since Rich Scangarello joined as coordinator. He's now had three preseason games to iron out the kinks, but Fangio isn't seeing progress in the red area.

Fortunately, this is the preseason and the games don't count. The stakes are low in the present but if the Broncos don't correct this issue, it's going to bite them in the rear end in the future.

Fangio is confident that Scangarello can turn the ship around, though. It's important to remember that it wasn't Joe Flacco and the first-team offense out there for an entire four quarters, but also a rookie QB in Drew Lock, a journeyman backup in Kevin Hogan and a backup offensive line that's been more turnstile than impenetrable wall.

“I think it’s fixable," Fangio said. "Like any part of the game it comes down to guys executing the play the way it’s been designed and we have to have good plays down there so it’s a little bit of everything. We can improve that, I believe. We need to in the next few weeks.”

On a short week, we'll see whether Scangarello's unit can show some improvement in the red zone. Although the coming game against the L.A. Rams is technically Denver's fourth preseason game, it is traditionally the 'dress rehearsal' in which the starters on both sides of the ball play until the first possession of the third quarter.

With how badly the injury bug has been biting the Broncos, Fangio might not choose to play his starters that long. But I imagine we'll get another long look at Flacco and company.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.