Playoffs?! One major national outlet projects Broncos back in postseason

Could the Broncos go from worst-to-first in 2023?

That feels unlikely, given the fact the Kansas City Chiefs still play in the AFC West. But one national outlet is giving them a chance to return to the postseason for the first time since they won Super Bowl 50.

CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin released an article predicting six new playoff teams this upcoming year, and Denver made his list.

It’s not that crazy. After all, the Jacksonville Jaguars went from having the No. 1 overall pick to the postseason a year ago. The New York Giants went from four wins in 2021 to securing a wild card berth. And oh by the way, both those teams even won a playoff game.

The NFL is definitely the league where teams are most likely to go from terrible to back in the tournament. 14 sqauds make it each year, and about half of them are new.

Benjamin had the Broncos, Browns, Jets, Lions, Packers and Panthers as candidates on his list. Here’s part of what he had to say about Denver:

Russell Wilson simply can’t be much worse than he was in 2022, and new coach Sean Payton seems to be signaling a return to run-heavier scripts after a spendy offseason prioritizing the trenches. The defense still has shutdown potential, but it’s Payton’s no-nonsense leadership that should catapult them into a wild card.

His logic is sound. If Wilson is any worse than he was a season ago, he’s just broken. It would go down as the worst trade in NFL history that GM George Paton made with the Seahawks. Paton certainly hopes that’s not the case, because he’d be out of a job.

And Payton is a massive addition as a head coach. Josh McDaniels might be the popular choice for worst coach in Broncos history, but for my money the answer is Nathaniel Hackett. He was incompetent on so many fronts, and shown the door after just 15 games.

It’ll be a tough task for Denver to return to the playoffs, given how tough the division is with the Chiefs and Chargers, but it’s also not impossible. Certainly any year that ends with at least one postseason game would be considered a success.

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