With three games remaining in the NFL season, the Denver Broncos are one game back of the final two wild card spots in the AFC.
In order to catch the 8-6 Cincinnati Bengals and 8-6 Indianapolis Colts, who hold the final two wild card spots heading into Week 16, Sean Payton and the Broncos will need help. But they’ll also have to take care of their own business down the stretch.
To give themselves the best shot of making the postseason, Denver will need to finish the season on a three-game win streak.
Fortunately, the Broncos’ final three games are as winnable as they come in the National Football League.
The Broncos welcome the 3-11 Patriots to town on Christmas Eve, then face the 5-9 Chargers at home on New Years Eve before ending the season in Las Vegas against the 6-8 Raiders.
Which of Denver’s final three games will be the most difficult?
The DNVR Broncos Crew breaks it down.
All odds below are courtesy of bet365.
What’s the Broncos’ hardest remaining game?
Zac: Week 18 @ Raiders — This isn’t even close. Denver’s final game of the season is by far the team’s hardest remaining game they have.
Not only have the Broncos never beat the Raiders in Las Vegas, they haven’t beat the Las Vegas Raiders a single time. That’s right, the last time the Broncos beat the Raiders, they were the Oakland Raiders.
For whatever reason, despite the Raiders being a middling team during the past four years, they’ve had the Broncos’ number, even earlier this year in Week 1.
Additionally, in the Raiders’ most recent game, they dropped 63 points in a beatdown against the Chargers. They absolutely have the talent to beat Denver for an eighth-straight time.
Denver should — should — win their remaining three games, including this one, but Week 18 is far from a lock.
Henry: The Chargers on New Year’s Eve— Call me crazy, but I think next week’s matchup against Los Angeles will be tougher than it looks on paper.
Yes, the Chargers just lost 63-21 to the Raiders in the second most-embarrassing performance from an NFL team this season. But they ditched their coach and general manager and teams often rally after a leadership change. Just look at the Raiders who turned into a .500 team after sending Josh McDaniels packing and have notched the second most-impressive win in the NFL this season.
The Chargers have plenty of talent, they just haven’t lived up to expectations. They’ll take on the Bills this week in a game they’re very unlikely to win, but they could show that they can be a competitive football team.
Remember last year, when the Broncos were embarrassed on national TV, fired Nathaniel Hackett the next day, played a close game against a Chiefs team that would eventually win the Super Bowl, and then knocked off a playoff-bound Chargers team?
That stretch showed what a coaching change can do, and the Broncos till need to come prepared if they want to stop the Chargers from following the script.
RK: This week against the Patriots — Yep. I said it. And I mean it.
On paper, this could be the easiest game remaining, but it’s not the opponent that worries me. For the first time in many weeks, Denver is facing real adversity and the vibes around the team have taken a real hit. The Broncos played like garbage last week, arguably the worst they’ve looked since the Dolphins dismantled them early in the season. Suddenly, all of the playoff talk for the Broncos is being called into question and we’re back to debating whether or not Sean Payton is going to run Russell Wilson out of town after the season or not.
This week is the toughest week because Denver has no momentum. In fact, they may even have negative momentum. This team is going to have to pick themselves up off the floor and fight for a win against a strong defense to prove to the world that they are the team from the seven weeks before the Detroit game. If they can do that, they’ll have the juice to get through the last two.
Picks Picks Picks
Russell Wilson passing yards over/under 202.5
Zac: Under.
Hank: Over.
RK: Over.
Bailey Zappe passing yards over/under 186.5
Zac: Under.
Hank: Over.
RK: Under.
Javonte Williams rushing yards over/under 55.5
Zac: Under.
Hank: Under.
RK: Under.
Jerry Jeudy receiving yards over/under 37.5
Zac: Over.
Hank: Over.
RK: Under.
Courtland Sutton receiving yards over/under 50.5
Zac: Under.
Hank: Over.
RK: Over.
Marvin Mims Jr. receiving yards over/under 14.5
Zac: Over.
Hank: Over.
RK: Under.
Will Lutz kicking points over/under 6.5
Zac: Over.
Hank: Over.
RK: Over.
Broncos-Patriots total points over/under 34.5
Zac: Under.
Hank: Over.
RK: Under.
Patriots @ Broncos (-6.5)
Zac: Broncos.
Hank: Broncos.
RK: Patriots cover, Broncos win.
Bills (-12) @ Chargers
Zac: Bills.
Hank: Chargers.
RK: Bills.
Raiders @ Chiefs (-10)
Zac: Raiders.
Hank: Raiders.
RK: Chiefs.
Leaderboard
Last Week
Zac: 7-6
RK: 4-9
Hank: 3-10
Overall
Hank: 100-80-5
Zac: 99-81-5
RK: 88-92-5
