Beating bad teams is all the Broncos have to do to make the playoffs
Oct 28, 2024, 4:00 AM | Updated: 6:57 am
The Broncos are the best JV team in the NFL. That sounds like a knock, which is understandable, but it’s actually a compliment.
In back-to-back weeks, Denver has dispatched of two of the league’s bottom feeders. They blasted New Orleans in Week 7, winning 33-10 on a short week in the Big Easy. And on Sunday, they ran Carolina out of town, pushing the Panthers around en route to a 28-14 victory at Empower Field.
In the process, the Broncos showed that they’re better than the bad teams that litter the NFL. They moved to 3-0 against the NFC South, arguably the worst division in the league, and improved to 5-3 on the season.
That record gets Denver squarely in the playoff race. At what feels like the season’s midway point, the Broncos are in line for a postseason spot. Beating bad teams will do that for a team.
Denver has built their winning record by knocking off teams with a combined 11-28 record. The three teams they’ve lost to are 13-9.
In other words, the Broncos beat bad teams and lose to good teams. And that’s okay.
It’s not Denver’s fault that they’ve had cupcakes on their slate. The only thing they’d have to apologize for is if they lost to those marshmallows.
They haven’t. And Sean Payton and company deserve kudos for avoiding letdowns and traps.
It’s put them one win away from surpassing their over/under (5.5 wins) on the season. With nine games to play. And it’s put them in position to make a postseason run; that’s huge for a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2015 campaign.
How do the Broncos get there? By doing what they’ve been doing.
Sure, the next two weeks are going to be difficult. Back-to-back road games at Baltimore and Kansas City will likely provide a bit of a reality check. But even at 5-5, Denver will be in a good spot. Their remaining schedule is littered with bad teams.
The Raiders loom in Week 12. Cleveland follows, with the Colts on deck after the Browns. That’s three games in a row that should be wins. Those teams are currently 8-16 combined.
The Bengals are on the schedule. They’re currently 3-5. And a trip to Los Angeles to play the Chargers will be a pseudo home game, as Broncos fans always travel well to southern California.
Win those games and the Broncos are above .500 on the season. That’d get them to 10 victories.
That’d likely get them into the playoffs. Ten wins should earn a wild card spot
If they can steal one other game along the way, the Broncos might get to 11 victories. Beat the Falcons or Chiefs at home and Denver won’t be squeaking into the playoffs; they’ll coast into the postseason.
Once there, it might get ugly. A trip to K.C., Buffalo or Baltimore might result in a one-and-done. But who cares? Given where Denver has been since winning Super Bowl 50, suffering through seven-straight sub-.500 campaigns, getting bounced from the playoffs in the opening round would be a huge success.
And it’s right there for the taking. All the Broncos have to do is beat the bad teams that remain on their schedule and they’ll be playing on Wild Card Weekend.
Is that doable? It should be.
Denver is the best JV team in the NFL. The last two weeks have proven that fact. And given the also-rans who remain on the Broncos schedule, that’ll be enough to punch a ticket to the tournament.
Beat the bad teams. That’s it. That’s all the Broncos have to do.
At this point, given that Denver sits at 5-3 and has a relatively easy schedule ahead, that should be the expectation. It’s now “Playoffs or Bust” in the Mile High City.
