The Broncos will need a hot start to make their postseason hopes a reality

NFL teams released their schedules for the 2020 season last week and it appears Drew Lock will have his work cut out for him. The rest of the AFC West, on the other hand, will face much less resistance. If the Broncos are to compete for a playoff berth this season, success during the first four weeks of the schedule will be critical.

Factoring in the projected win totals for each team, CBS Sports believes the Broncos will face the fourth-most difficult schedule this year. Denver’s opponents have a projected average win percentage of .523. Only the Jets (.527), Giants (.531) and Falcons (.535) face a tougher slate in 2020.

Using the same metric, CBS Sports predicts the Chargers will have the third-easiest schedule in the NFL, facing opponents with a projected average win percentage of .480.

The Chiefs’ strength of schedule also ranks in the bottom 10. The defending Super Bowl champions are projected to have the eighth-easiest schedule, facing opponents with a projected average win percentage of exactly .500.

The Raiders are the lone division rival projected to face a difficult schedule in 2020, though it is still not as daunting as what the Broncos are expected to face. Las Vegas is projected to play the fifth-toughest schedule in the NFL, facing opponents with an average win percentage of .521.

All three divisional opponents appear to have difficult games scheduled during the first quarter of the season. The Raiders open the season against the new-look Panthers, led by Teddy Bridgewater, and then face both the Saints and the Bills.

The Chargers begin the season against a questionable Bengals team, but then must face the Chiefs, Panthers and Buccaneers.

The Chiefs square off against both Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson in the first three weeks of the season.

The Broncos, who have a string of difficult matchups toward the back end of the schedule, need to win early and often this season to separate themselves within the division and have a fighting chance at the postseason.

Unfortunately, that may be more challenging than it sounds.

Denver opens the season against the Titans, who are fresh off a career-reviving season from Ryan Tannehill. Following the benching of Marcus Mariota at Empower Field in Week 6 last season, Tennessee embarked on a remarkable run that led them to the AFC Championship Game, eliminating league MVP Lamar Jackson along the way. They will be a formidable opponent for the Broncos in Week 1.

The Steelers, plagued by injury and controversy throughout the season, still managed to earn an 8-8 record in large part because of their top-tier defense. Traveling to Pittsburgh on a short week to face a healthy Ben Roethlisberger will be no easy task.

Last season, the Jameis Winston-led Buccaneers would have been a relatively soft matchup for the Broncos. This season, however, Tampa Bay has secured the league’s most-coveted free agent. Forty-three-year-old Tom Brady may be in the twilight of his career, but he is currently at the helm of one of the league’s most-potent offenses. Rob Gronkowski will join Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and Ronald Jones. Former Bronco Shaquil Barrett, who led the NFL with 19.5 sacks last season, must also be accounted for. With two weeks to work out the kinks, Tampa Bay will likely be a well-oiled machine when they arrive at Empower Field in September.

The Jets are arguably the least-intimidating opponent the Broncos will face during the first quarter of the season, but that matchup is more complicated than it appears on paper. The Broncos, who will be coming off an emotionally-charged game against the Buccaneers, will then be faced with another short week. An east-coast road game on a short week, immediately following a high-octane battle against Tom Brady, has all of the makings a trap game for Denver.

The sky, truthfully, is the limit for the Broncos in 2020. A new-look offense, complemented by a fortified and more experienced defense gives fans playoff aspirations. And justifiably so. But without a hot start, the team could very easily find itself out of the postseason race before it starts.