Where do you think the Broncos end up by season’s end?

At 5-4 coming off a brutal loss, I asked the Mile High Report staff where they think the Denver Broncos are heading by season’s end.

The Denver Broncos were riding high, but the wins were against teams with an overall losing record. The Baltimore Ravens represented their first true test against one of the AFC’s elite teams. They were demolished.

That setback has us recalibrating our expectations. So I asked our team to look over the remaining schedule for the Broncos and give their opinion on where this team is likely heading by the end of the season.

Here’s where Mile High Report staffers stand.

John Holmes: If they manage to avoid injuries, I think the Broncos should be favored in 5 remaining games, disfavored in 2, and have one tossup. That’s a recipe for the wildcard, but not one for a deep playoff run.

Scotty Payne: Alright... let’s take a look at the remaining schedule.

• On the road vs. the Chiefs? Win because f*ck them. Broncos win.
• Home vs. Falcons? Kirk will suck. Broncos win.
• Broncos at Raiders? Lol they suck. Broncos win.
• Browns at Broncos? Jameis throws 6 INTs and Broncos win
• Colts at Broncos? Joe Flacco will play like Broncos Joe Flacco. Broncos win.
• Broncos at Chargers? Guess we’re starting a losing streak against another divisional rival. Broncos lose.
• Broncos at Bengals? Surtain locks down Chase again. Broncos win
• Chiefs at Broncos? Broncos get the sweep because the Chiefs are resting everyone.

So, while I did not intend for this to happen, I have the Broncos going 12-5 the rest of the way. 10-7 is probably more realistic but they SHOULD get a wild card. The defense needs to bounce back and Nix needs to continue to grow.

The AFC is pretty weak and 9-8 could get them the 7th seed but there’s a lot of football to go.

Chris Hart: Denver’s brutal loss to the Ravens doesn’t change my outlook on the team the rest of the way out. Under optimal conditions, I felt this team could win up to 10 games and potentially be a wild card team. I had them pegged at 10-7 to start the season and I think that, or a 9-8 record is more than realistic.

The two matchups against the Chiefs loom large. However, there is a good shot the Chiefs could be resting their starters with the AFC West lock down in the season finale. I think it’s reasonable to expect a split there. I also think the Broncos can win their remaining divisional games against the Raiders and Chargers. Hell, they have to in order to be a playoff team. The Browns are still struggling on offense, the Bengals defense is quite bad, and the Colts are a mediocre team. The Falcons have a decent offense, but their defense has not performed consistently at all.

If Vance Joseph can get his defense back to playing Top 10 football and if...