Broncos, and their fans, have come too far to give up hope now

The Denver Broncos 2023 season isn’t over yet.

Neither are their dreams of the playoffs.

Yes, the loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday was a gut punch, there’s no other way to slice it.

In a game the Broncos got badly outplayed, they still had a chance to win it in the final seconds. Heck, they had three of them. But unlike in victories against the Bills and Vikings, QB Russell Wilson simply ran out of magic.

None of his first two passes to the end zone found a player wearing white. His third was caught by a guy in blue, a painful interception that was felt all across the Mile High City.

It’d be so much easier to wake up today at 7-5, tied with the Steelers, Browns and Colts for the final three seeds in the AFC playoffs. Instead, Houston is the team at 7-5 and the Broncos stare up at yet another logjam in front of them. They’re currently the No. 9 seed in the conference, with plenty of work to do.

But this team, and their fans, has come way too far to give up hope now. At 1-5, everything looked lost. At 6-5, everything looked possible. And now back at .500, things are murky.

Still, if they can put together a five-game winning streak, why can’t they go 4-1 the rest of the way to make the dance for the first time since 2015? And it’s not like they beat up on bad teams. That stretch included wins over the Packers (who certainly look better), the Chiefs (contender), the Bills (fringe-contender), Vikings (great story) and the Browns (over .500).

If Denver showed they can play with several of the better teams in the NFL, why should a finishing slate that includes two games against the Chargers, one against the Patriots and one against the Raiders scare anyone? Don’t jump off the bandwagon yet.

Looking at the remaining schedules of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Houston is an exhausting activity. It’s too early to go game by game of who the Broncos want to lose and want to win. But since the league went to seven playoff teams in 2020, only one 10-win team has ever been left out.

That was in the first year, when the 10-6 Dolphins finished No. 8 in the AFC. But in 2021, the 9-7-1 Steelers got the final spot in the AFC and the 9-8 Eagles claimed the final spot in the NFC. In 2022, it was the 9-8 Dolphins and 9-8 Seahawks sneaking in.

Translation? Get to double-digits and good things are likely to happen.

Yes, the game in Detroit in 11 days looms large, but none of the others are monumental tasks. The Chargers constantly underachieve, and just beat the pathetic Patriots 6-0. Speaking of New England, they’ll be here on Christmas Eve. And the Raiders will likely be counting down to Cancun vacations come January 7.

Russell Wilson can’t throw three interceptions again. The defense can’t fail to force a single turnover. And Alex Singleton can’t take dumb penalties that cost his team four points. Even with that perfect storm in Houston, the Broncos had multiple chances to win.

For a fanbase that has suffered again and again since Super Bowl 50, have some faith. It’s about time things even out in Denver’s favor. Head coach Sean Payton has gobs of playoff experience, and knows what it takes to get a team there.

So while this past weekend hurt, next Sunday can’t come soon enough. If the Broncos win, the thoughts of the playoffs will be fully back on. If they lose, well things start to look a little grim.

But the locker room after the defeat to the Texans was nothing like it was after the 70-20 beatdown in Miami. This was more frustration than sadness, knowing they let one slip away. Not that they didn’t belong on the same field.

It’s been a roller coaster season, but this thing has another big up left in it. That’s what the players believe, and that’s what Broncos Country should too.