Broncos Pick 'Em: Midway through the season, what will Denver's final record be?

For the first time since 2010, the Denver Broncos will play a game without Von Miller in their organization.

After trading the Super Bowl 50 MVP, the Broncos are looking toward the future. However, at 4-4, they are very much still in the playoff picture as they are only half a game out of the seventh seed.

With nine games left, will the Broncos fight for a playoff spot or look more like a team that is rebuilding?

The DNVR Crew breaks it down in the ninth edition of Broncos Pick ‘Em.

All odds below are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

What will the Broncos’ final record be?

Zac: 6-11 — The Denver Broncos have become very easy to predict. All four of their wins have come against teams with losing records. All four of their losses have come against teams who are .500 or better.

Moving forward, the 4-4 Broncos will beat every team they play who has a losing record. They will lose to every team who is at least .500. The Broncos are about as mediocre as it comes and this formula highlights that perfectly.

Unfortunately for Denver, only two of their remaining nine games are against teams with losing record. The Broncos should beat the 3-5 Eagles at home in Week 10 and the 0-8 Lions at home in Week 14.

But every other game is going to be very daunting.

Mase: 7-10 — The truth is, the Broncos are only a game below where I thought they’d be heading into the season. Only the Las Vegas Raiders loss has been a real surprise relative to August expectations. If they remain at preseason expectations, they would split the next two, leaving them at 5-5 at the bye.

But it’s how the Broncos have reached their current .500 standing: a 4-0 record against the C flight and an 0-4 mark against teams from the NFL’s A and B flights. They have just two games remaining against C-flight teams; everyone else is B or better. A win against a B-flight team — specifically Cleveland, which played without Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt — would have everyone feeling better.

I can’t get past something that former Broncos linebacker Todd Davis said in a radio interview in which I took part this week in the wake of the Miller trade.

“For me, I feel like that says they’re going into a rebuilding phase,” Davis said. “I think when you start trading away your best players, you’re not necessarily thinking about winning right now. That’s how I viewed it. I know I talked to some guys in the locker room, and I know that’s how they feel about it too. I think that’s the consensus of everybody around Denver.”

So, that sort of mindset leads to two possible paths. Either the Broncos rally like the Cleveland Indians in “Major League,” playing for each other and no one outside the locker room, and deliver a stunning run to the playoffs … or they begin to play for themselves and their own futures, rather for each other.

If it’s the former, you can take that 7-10 prediction and flip it … and that would likely be enough for a wild-card spot that few see on the horizon today.

RK: 7-10 — We know the Broncos can beat bad teams, and they have two of them left on their schedule, the Eagles and the Lions, that gets us to six wins.

Then, as we know, the Chargers are always gonna Charger, meaning Denver will also get one of their matchups with them.

Seven wins should have Denver right around the 10th pick, a place they’ve become very familiar with recently.

Picks Picks Picks

Teddy Bridgewater passing yards over/under 260.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Under.

Dak Prescott passing yards over/under 277.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Under.

RK: Over.

Teddy Bridgewater passing touchdowns over/under 1.5

Zac: Under.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Will Melvin Gordon or Javonte Williams have more rushing yards?

Zac: Melvin.

Mase: Gordon.

RK: Pookie.

Ezekiel Elliot rushing yards over/under 75.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Under.

Courtland Sutton receiving yards over/under 64.5

Zac: Under.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Jerry Jeudy receiving yards over/under 54.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Under.

Broncos total points over/under 19.5

Zac: Under.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Cowboys total points over/under 30.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Under.

Broncos vs Cowboys over/under 49.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Will Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy combine for over 199.5 receiving yards and over 1.5 touchdowns?

Zac: No.

Mase: No.

RK: No.

Broncos @ Cowboys (-10)

Zac: Cowboys. Blowout incoming ?.

Mase: Broncos keep it close.

RK: Broncos cover and lose.

Raiders (-3) @ Giants

Zac: Raiders

Mase: Raiders.

RK: Giants.

Packers @ Chiefs (-7.5)

Zac: Chiefs.

Mase: Chiefs.

RK: Pack.

Chargers (-2) @ Eagles

Zac: Chargers.

Mase: Chargers.

RK: Birds.

Leaderboard

Last week

Mase: 9-8

Zac: 7-10

RK: 5-12

Overall

Zac: 54-60

Mase: 47-67

RK: 45-69