Pat Surtain II's Ankle Injury Leaves the Broncos Secondary Scrambling

The Denver Broncos just took a 24-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but the real damage happened to the foundation of their defense.

According to Ian Rapoport on Good Morning Football, star cornerback Pat Surtain II is expected to miss time with an ankle injury. He is getting evaluated today to figure out exactly how long he will be wearing a walking boot instead of cleats.

"Ian Rapoport reported on Good Morning Football that Surtain is expected to miss time."

Losing your lockdown corner is bad. Losing him when your secondary is already getting tested is a full-blown crisis. Surtain is the kind of player who erases half the field, and without him, defensive coordinators have to start doing math they do not want to do.

To make matters worse, Rapoport noted that fellow Broncos defensive back Riley Moss is also dealing with an issue. If you are keeping track at home, that is two key pieces of the Denver secondary hitting the medical tent at the exact same time.

The injury fallout from Sunday night was not limited to Denver. San Francisco fullback Kyle Juszczyk is also waiting on an update after the 49ers ground out that ten-point win.

For anyone looking at the upcoming lines, a missing Surtain completely changes the math on Denver's defense. You cannot just plug a backup into that spot and expect the opposing quarterback to ignore him. The total points projection for Denver games just got a lot more interesting.

We will know more once the doctors finish looking at Surtain's ankle today. Until then, the Broncos have to figure out how to patch a massive hole in their coverage before their next opponent realizes the vault is wide open.