Mile High Report
If the season ended today (it doesn’t), the Denver Broncos would be the 5th seed in the AFC.
If the season ended today, and it doesn’t, the Denver Broncos would be the 5th seed and the top wildcard team in the AFC. In this scenario, they would play the Buffalo Bills on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
Again, there is a lot of football to go, but it is nice to see the Broncos in this position at the halfway mark of the season. They sit at a 5-3 record and have won five of their last six games after starting the season 0-2. They are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now but they face a critical stretch of games that could make or break their postseason hopes.
With all that said, let’s take an in-depth look at the AFC wildcard contenders and their schedules for the next three weeks.
The Broncos will begin their toughest stretch on the schedule this Sunday when they travel on the road to take on MVP candidate Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. They’re coming off an upset loss to the Cleveland Browns, but still are a dangerous team who will test the Broncos.
After that, they travel on the road again to take on the reigning Super Bowl Champions the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite being 7-0, they haven’t played their best football offensively this season and have been leaning on their defense. This will be another tough test for the Broncos, but they beat them last season, so let’s see if they can do it again.
After that tough back-to-back stretch of road games, they head back home to take on Kirk Cousins and the explosive Atlanta Falcons offense. This won’t be an easy game for the Broncos but will be another they will need to win if they want to make the postseason.
If the Broncos go 3-0 in this stretch, they will be one of the top teams in the AFC. If they go 2-1, they will be in a good position for a wildcard spot, 1-2 puts them at .500 and likely on the bubble for a postseason spot and 0-3 would put them in a disappointing 5-6 hole.
The Ravens have a tough three-game stretch as well. The Broncos have won 5 of their last 6 games, the Bengals while not having a great record are always dangerous and the Steelers are playing good football right now.
If the Broncos have their issues, they’ll need the Ravens to struggle during this stretch as well. Defeating the Ravens this Sunday would be a good start for the Broncos and it would give them some cushion against their competition.
