I TOLD YOU SO:
In August, I wrote an article called “Can the Denver Broncos Win the Super Bowl?”. My conclusion was that it’s unlikely but not too far-fetched.
After the Broncos’ 1W-5L start to the season, including a 70-20 loss to the Dolphins, I seemed like a fool. Little did I know, Sean Payton was far from done. Over the past few weeks, the Denver Broncos have made me look like a genius.
THE NEED FOR A QUARTERBACK:
The Denver Broncos started their 2021 season strong. Denver won their first three games, courtesy of their defense allowing 8.67 points per game over that span. However, over the next 4 games, their offense only scored 16 points per game and fell to 3W-4L. Throughout the remainder of the season, the Denver defense showed great potential but the instability at quarterback continued to hold the team. Denver finished the season 7W-10L, with the 3rd ranked defense in the NFL and 23rd ranked offense. The Broncos had two running backs, Melvin Gordon & Javonte Williams, rush for over 900 yards, meaning the issue was at quarterback.
THE 2022 OFFSEASON:
After the 2021 season, the Denver Broncos replaced their current head coach, Vic Fangio, with Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett was the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers for the previous three years and had a lot of success with Aaron Rodgers. Since Rodgers was expected to find a new home that offseason, the hiring of Hackett was most likely part of a plan to pair him with Rodgers.
However, the Packers refused to trade their quarterback and the Broncos were forced to make a blockbuster trade for a different quarterback. Denver ended up trading a king’s ransom to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Russell Wilson. In addition, Denver signed Wilson to a 5-year contract, worth 245 million dollars. Wilson is a high-end quarterback who has led his team on playoff runs before, and the expectations for Hackett and the Broncos skyrocketed. Some experts expected the Broncos to compete with the Chiefs for the division and maybe even the Super Bowl.
THE 2022 SEASON:
The 2022 season didn’t exactly go as planned. The season started in Seattle with what was supposed to be Wilson’s revenge game. However, it turned into Geno Smith’s coming out party as the Broncos were stunned in the opener. The season continued with disappointment after disappointment for Denver and after a 4W-11L start, Hackett was fired. In Hackett’s 11 games, Russ threw only 12 touchdown passes and 11 picks. Over the next two games, Russ did look a little bit better, throwing 4 touchdown passes, giving Denver hope that the issue was only Hackett.
THE 2023 OFFSEASON:
Coming off their most disappointing season in franchise history, the Broncos were desperate for a coach who was capable of two things: 1) Building a winning culture. 2) Fixing Russell Wilson.
They found that coach in a big way by trading a first-round pick to the New Orleans Saints to bring Sean Payton out of retirement. Sean Payton is a head coach who has led a team to the Super Bowl in the past and has also done great work with quarterbacks. The acquisition of Payton brought some hope to Denver, yet everyone was careful not to set themselves up for disappointment again. Well everyone except for me.
THE BEGINNING OF THE 2023 SEASON:
The Broncos kicked off the 2023 season with back-to-back gut-wrenching losses, blowing 4th quarter leads to both the Raiders and Commanders. It couldn’t get much worse, but it did. In week 3 the Denver Broncos went to Miami to face Tua Tagovailoa and the high-powered Dolphins’ offense. It got ugly very quickly. The Dolphins put up over 700 yards of offense, as led by Tua who threw more touchdown passes than incompletions, Miami put up 70 points on the Denver defense.
The next week the Broncos faced the terrible Chicago Bears. Led by a 21-point comeback, the Broncos squeezed out an ugly 31-28 win over a bad team. Denver had a chance to gain some momentum the next week as they faced the struggling New York Jets.
The two offenses were underwhelming the entire game. Eventually, the Jets had an opportunity to pull away in the fourth quarter, as they had the ball in Denver territory with a 3-point lead. Then, that top-3 defense from 2021 finally showed up, as Pat Surtain II came up with a game-saving interception. The pick gave Russ and the offense the ball back, down by three with two minutes left and a chance to win the game. Here we go, this is what the Broncos brought in Russell Wilson for. With the game on the line, in classic Denver Broncos style, Wilson fumbled to lose the game. Now at 1W-4L, and 7 games remaining against teams with winning records (as of week 5), the Broncos’ season was effectively over.
In week 6 the Broncos went into Arrowhead to face the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos hadn’t beaten their division rivals in eight years, maybe they could break the curse and come away from the 2023 season with one positive? Not a chance. The offense looked horrible and the Chiefs easily dropped the Broncos to 1W-5L.
AND THEN, BRONCOS COUNTY RODE…:
In week 7, the struggling Green Bay Packers came into Denver. It seemed as if the Broncos had nothing to play for but it was nice to see them sneak away with a 19-17 win. Yet, at the time, it didn’t mean much since the Packers weren’t very good either.
The next week the Kansas City Chiefs came to the mile high and Broncos’ fans mentally prepared themselves for another embarrassment. Rumors of Patrick Mahomes having the flu did give Broncos fans a bit of hope.
Then the magic happened. The same Denver defense that allowed 70 points to the Dolphins, came up with 5 takeaways against the Chiefs. Russell Wilson joined the party and tossed three touchdown passes as the Broncos dethroned the Chiefs and took them down 24-9.
The Broncos headed into the bye week with some momentum from the huge upset win. They came out of the bye week and instantly gained more. The Broncos forced a fumble on the first play of the game against the Bills. The fumble was the first of four takeaways that night. The big performance by their defense kept Denver in the game until the very end. With under two minutes left, Russ and the offense got the ball back, down by one with a chance to win the game. This was way too similar to the end of the Jets game. Yet, assisted by a couple of clutch plays by running back Samaje Perine, Russ led the team into field goal range with four seconds remaining. With the game on the line, the Broncos sent out their kicker Will Lutz to try and win the game in the closing moments. But Lutz missed the kick. Game over, Broncos lose, winning streak over. But, wait! There was a penalty flag on the field. The Bills had one too many players on the field and the Broncos were rewarded a re-kick. Lutz didn’t miss a second time and the Broncos took down the Buffalo Bills 24-22, Denver’s third consecutive win.
The next week the Broncos faced the only team in the NFL who had a longer win steak, the Minnesota Vikings. The game was a back-and-forth battle all night long, until Russ and the offense found themselves with the ball, down by 5, with two minutes left and a chance to win the game. Just like the previous week, Samaje Perine stepped up, with four catches on the drive. After finding Perine four times, Russell Wilson took a shot for the endzone. Star receiver Courtland Sutton leaped up and caught the ball in the corner of the endzone for the game-winning touchdown. The Broncos took down the Vikings 21-20 for their fourth straight win, now the longest streak in the NFL.
In week 12, the Broncos faced the Cleveland Browns. Coming into the game, there was concern regarding how the Broncos’ inconsistent offense would fare against the Browns’ elite defense. Russ and the boys immediately showed exactly how the game would go. The Broncos’ offense marched right down the field and Samaje Perine punched the ball in for 6. The Browns never quite recovered from the early punch in the mouth. The Broncos took the momentum and ran with it, taking down the Browns 29-12.
With that win, Denver rose above 500 for the first time this season, at 6W-5L. Throughout this 5-game win streak, Russell Wilson has thrown 8 touchdown passes and 0 picks. It still might be too early to tell, but I think Sean Payton has accomplished both of his goals (1) Building a winning culture. 2) Fixing Russell Wilson).
SO “CAN THE DENVER BRONCOS WIN THE SUPER BOWL?”:
The Denver Broncos are currently sitting at 6W-5L, and are tied for the last wildcard spot. Denver is tied with both the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts. The Broncos will face the Texans in a huge game next week at 1 pm EST. If the Broncos win in Houston they will have a clear path to the playoffs as four of their last five matchups are against teams well under 500. The Broncos will need either 10 or 11 wins to beat out the Texans and Colts so it will be very tight. It is important to note that one of the other wildcard teams is the Cleveland Browns, who have not looked the same since losing their quarterback, Deshaun Watson to season-ending shoulder surgery. The Broncos defeated the Browns in week 12, so if they continue to collapse, the Broncos will have the tiebreaker.
If Denver does find their way into the playoffs, I believe they can make some noise in a wildcard matchup. Denver’s most likely opponents in the wildcard round are the Dolphins, Chiefs, and Jaguars.
Dolphins - De’Von Achane, who scored 4 of Miami’s touchdowns in week 3 has been dealing with multiple injuries and is unlikely to be back in time for the playoffs. Therefore, a rematch would be a much closer game. Even though defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph has done a great job turning things around, I doubt Joseph and the Broncos’ defense ever want to see that Miami offense again.
Chiefs - In the second half of their week 6 matchup, and throughout the entire game of their week 8 matchup it became clear that this isn’t the same Chiefs team. This Chiefs team lacks depth and doesn’t have explosive enough pass-catchers to beat the Broncos’ stacked secondary. Led by Justin Simmons, who has intercepted Mahomes 5 times in his career, Denver’s defense can keep the game close. If Russell Wilson can step up, don’t be shocked if the Broncos upset the Chiefs again.
Jaguars - The Denver Broncos have played Jacksonville very well over the past few years. The Broncos have won 4 out of their last 5 matchups with the Jaguars including their week 8 matchup in London last season. If the Broncos can slow down Travis Etienne don’t be shocked if Denver comes away with an upset.
Even though the Broncos have continuously shocked the world this season, even I, as a Broncos fan must admit that they will not get past the divisional round. Their offense is not consistent or explosive enough to upset contenders in consecutive rounds. Hopefully next year, with healthy seasons from standout receiver Tim Patrick and young tight end Greg Dulcich, plus a full offseason under Sean Payton, Denver will be able to return to their 2015 form.
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