Believe it or not, the Broncos’ Week 9 Bye is quickly approaching. Sitting at 2-3, what will Denver’s record be going into their Bye?
Two of their remaining three games are against teams with a winning record. The Broncos will take on the 3-2 Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football in Week 6 followed by hosting the surprising 3-2 New York Jets in Week 7. Denver will then take off to London to face the 2-3 Jaguars before their Bye Week.
What will the Broncos’ record be in three weeks?
The DNVR Broncos Crew debates.
All odds below are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
What will Denver’s record be heading into their Bye Week?
Zac: 3-5 — With a brutal schedule on the other side of the Bye Week, the Broncos really needed to have a winning record in the first half of the season to give themselves a good shot at the playoffs. But sitting at 2-3 five weeks in, they’ve put themselves in a tough hole.
Fortunately, if there’s any week for Denver’s offense to show life it will be Monday night against the Chargers, who have one of the worst scoring defenses in the NFL, allowing over 27 points per game. However, with Wilson’s shoulder injury, and Denver’s offense still nowhere to be found, I give the nod to the Chargers.
After that, as much as the Broncos should beat teams like the Jets and Jaguars, both of their defenses will be tough for Denver’s mightily struggling offense. I think Denver will split those games. That has the Broncos only winning one more game before the Bye Week.
RK: 4-4 — I’m giving the Broncos the benefit of desperation here.
We saw what desperation can do for a team like the Raiders when they played the Broncos in a desperate situation. Denver simply cannot afford to lose two of the next three and that starts this week against the Chargers.
After getting the longest possible break a team can get in the NFL without having a bye week, Nathaniel Hackett should have his best game plan of the season ready for a Chargers defense that has struggled all year. If the Broncos can get their run game rolling against a poor run defense, it should open up the passing lanes that they simply have not been able to unlock since the Seahawks game.
Beat the Chargers and 3-0 is very much in the cards, but it’s hard to trust this team to win three in a row right now.
4-4 at the bye keeps the Broncos in the conversation, but they’ll have to become a far better team in the second half of the season to make the playoffs.
Hank: 4-4 — The choice between one win and two wins before the bye wasn’t easy but I landed on a 2-1 finish to the opening stretch.
I’m betting on the defense here. To this point in the season, it’s been one of the best in the NFL. Sure, the competition hasn’t always been great, but if you throw out the three easiest games so far, you’re left with an outstanding performance against the 49ers and a lackluster outing against the Raiders. One of those is a fluke, and I’m confident it’s the Raider game. The Broncos’ defense will hold two of its opponents under 17 points and the offense will be able to capitalize on the opportunity.
Games against the Jaguars and the Jets should be wins, at least on paper. An upset over the Chargers would allow for a letdown in one of those games.
Picks Picks Picks
Russell Wilson passing + rushing yards over/under 248.5
Zac: Under.
RK: Under.
Hank: Under.
Justin Herbert passing yards over/under 264.5
Zac: Over.
RK: Over.
Hank: Under.
Russell Wilson passing touchdowns over/under 1.5 (+125)
Zac: Under.
RK: Under.
Hank: Under.
Austin Ekeler rushing yards over/under 59.5
Zac: Over.
RK: Under.
Hank: Under.
Jerry Jeudy + Courtland Sutton receiving yards over/under 120
Zac: Under.
RK: Over.
Hank: Under.
Broncos total points over/under 20.5
Zac: Under.
RK: Over.
Hank: Under.
Broncos-Chargers total points over/under 45.4
Zac: Under.
RK: Over.
Hank: Under.
Bills (-2.5) @ Chiefs
Zac: Chiefs.
RK: Bills.
Hank: Chiefs.
Broncos @ Chargers (-4.5)
Zac: Broncos cover.
RK: Broncos.
Hank: Broncos.
Leaderboard
Last week
RK: 9-4
Zac: 8-5
Hank: 5-8
Overall
Zac: 32-32
RK: 31-33
Hank: 20-44
