Despite crushing loss, the Broncos are still a playoff team right now
Nov 12, 2024, 12:25 PM
The Denver Broncos are still a playoff team on Nov. 12, despite the crushing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday.
It’s a piece of good news after a devastating 16-14 defeat at the hands of the undefeated Chiefs. The Broncos had a 35-yard field goal blocked at the buzzer to send them to 5-5 on the season.
Luckily, the AFC had a bad week pretty much across the board, keeping Denver at the No. 7 seed in the conference. The 4-6 Bengals lost to the Ravens, as did the 4-6 Colts to the Bills. The Broncos play both Cincinnati and Indianapolis before the season is over, so obviously those games will have a lot on the line.
In the meantime, Miami could linger at 3-6 after a big Monday Night Football win over the Rams, but the 3-7 Jets and Patriots don’t appear to be threats. The Browns, Titans, Raiders and Jaguars all have only two wins.
In front of the Broncos, moving up the standings could be tough. They’re not catching the 9-0 Chiefs in the AFC West, so the five and six seeds are their only other options to make the postseason. Baltimore is currently the No. 5 seed with a 7-3 record, plus the tiebreaker over Denver.
The Los Angeles Chargers are No. 6, sporting a 6-3 mark. The Broncos do play Jim Harbaugh’s bunch again this year, so a win against them and some help makes that a slight possibility.
Overall, this is still pretty good news. Yes, a two-game losing streak hurts, but the AFC as a conference is down this year. If Denver can get to 9-8 they have a realistic shot to make the dance for the first time since 2015.
Falling the way they did to the Chiefs was brutal, but all is not lost in a promising rookie season from QB Bo Nix. The playoffs remain a realistic possibility.
