While taking the week off is always welcome, it usually makes for a weird weekend of football-watching. Instead of rooting directly for a team from Denver, it’s suddenly all about rooting against a whole
slew of teams. The Patriots and Chiefs did their best to ruin my Sunday by winning, but kudos are due to the Colts who found a way to blow it late against Kansas City. Scoreboard watching (that isn’t tied to draft position) has returned as a popular hobby in Broncos Country.
Due to the Broncos week off and an incredibly soft schedule for the Patriots, the Broncos find themselves this Monday morning as the second seed in the AFC. With six games left, are the Broncos a legitimate threat to take back the number one seed?
If the Broncos take care of their business, there’s nothing stopping them from reclaiming their rightful place atop the AFC. A Jayden Daniels-less Commanders team? A Raiders team that just fired their OC following an abysmal outing against the Browns? An inconsistent Packers team? The first three games after the bye are ones that the Broncos should take and they’re ones the Broncos need to win the AFC West.
Then, there are the last three games of the season. While more difficult than the first three games coming out of the bye, they are the perfect springboard into the postseasons’ elevated level of play. The Jaguars are a scrappy team (right, Arizona Cardinals) and an explosive team (right, Los Angeles Chargers?) that can’t be overlooked. The Chiefs on Christmas Day will be fighting for their playoff lives and will have the benefit of the referees (as usual) and home field at Arrowhead. Then there are the Chargers… They might yet have a surge of success as the season winds down.
It’s fun that the league schedules division games to close out the season to make things interesting. The Denver Broncos are in the unique position to make those games totally irrelevant with the lead they’ve built throughout the season.
Each win from here on out sets the table for what we all hope is a deep postseason run. As always, there are games they should win and there are games they will likely lose, but one thing is for sure… Broncos Country is behind this team as they forge their path to the playoffs. The bye week is over. It’s time for the Broncos to play their best football of the season.
