Plummer’s turnovers cost Denver

Jake Plummer was praised for protecting the ball this season and cutting down on the turnovers that had hounded him for years.

That was before Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Broncos’ quarterback lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions in the Steelers’ 34-17 victory at Denver.

Plummer threw only seven interceptions and lost two fumbles during the regular season. But his mistakes were costly against Pittsburgh.

Texans choose Kubiak as coach

Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak will be hired by the Texans to take over the worst team in the league and help decide what Houston should do with the first pick in the draft.

Texans owner Bob McNair said during a Sunday news conference that the hiring won’t be completed until later in the week because the Texans could not negotiate a contract with Kubiak until the Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs.

McNair’s announcement came about an hour after Denver lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game.

Kubiak played for Texans consultant Dan Reeves and backed up John Elway from 1983-91.

Bills close to deal with Jauron

The Buffalo Bills were close to hiring Dick Jauron as head coach, and the former Chicago Bears coach was in town Sunday to finalize the deal, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.

Reached on his cell phone, Jauron confirmed to the AP that he was in Buffalo but declined to comment, referring questions to the team.

A person with direct knowledge of the decision told the AP that Jauron arrived to finish up some contract details. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not yet been made.

A message left with Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold was not immediately returned.

Broncos blown out again

When the Denver Broncos lose in the playoffs, they tend to lose big.

Sunday’s 34-17 defeat to the Steelers marked the fourth time in their past five playoff games that Denver has lost by at least 17 points.

The Broncos managed only a field goal in a 21-3 wild-card loss to the Baltimore Ravens in 2000, then were outscored 90-34 by the Indianapolis Colts in wild-card games in 2004 and ‘05.

Pittsburgh started the trend, which dates back almost three decades, by beating Denver 33-10 in a divisional playoff game in 1978.

But Denver’s most embarrassing blowouts – by far – occurred during the Super Bowl.

In Super Bowl XXII, the Broncos took an early 10-0 lead against the Redskins, only to watch Washington score 35 points in the second quarter in a 42-10 defeat. Two years later, Denver lost 55-10 to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV.

Mularkey joins Dolphins staff

Former Buffalo Bills coach Mike Mularkey is headed home to his native South Florida.

Barely a week after quitting as coach of the Bills, Mularkey agreed Sunday to become offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins.

The 44-year-old Mularkey grew up in Fort Lauderdale, then played at the University of Florida. He was offered the Dolphins job when he met Friday with coach Nick Saban.

Scott Linehan, Saban’s offensive coordinator last season, departed Thursday to become head coach of the St. Louis Rams.