Denver Broncos Have the Rest of the NFL Right Where They Want Them

“We’ve got them right where we want them.”
– Keith Bishop, Guard, Denver Broncos – from the Denver 2-yard line at the start of “The Drive”

Who would have ever at season’s start that the Broncos would be sailing into Week 10 of this season at 7-2? Especially after the team started 1-2. Who would have, aside from Sean Payton and Bo Nix, anyway?

So a very winnable game against the Las Vegas Raiders at home on national television had all of the possibilities of being a vindication or condemnation of those highly-set expectations, given that most of Denver’s wins and losses have both been by the skin of their teeth this year, with two of their wins and none of their losses coming by double digits this season. Even with the two blowouts, the average margin in the Broncos’ first nine games was barely north of seven points. It’s been a nail-biter of a season thus far, tied for the best record or not.

At stake? The difference between an 8-2 or 7-3 record, which would average out to the difference between a 14-win, and 12- win season, plus stability in their division against the worst team in the AFC West. A win would send them into a much happier 10-day break before the vaunted Kansas City Chiefs will be in town. A bye after Kansas City leaves Denver with a single game to play in the next 23 days, a three-plus week chance to take a deep breath and collect themselves before two winnable road games against the Commanders and Raiders. Even if they lost that Chiefs game, wins against the teams they should beat would have them sitting at 10-3 before hitting the four-game gauntlet that is the end of their season.

Happily it all worked out. Narrowly. Again. After giving Las Vegas every opportunity to win the game, Denver somehow squeaked and eked out another win to head into the next week and a half at 8-2 and looking every bit a playoff contender. Even more miraculously, a lousy six points separates Denver from a perfect 10-0 record on the year. As imperfect as they have looked, and it was so glaringly imperfect on the bright lights of national TV, they keep finding ways to win, with this impressive defense tacking another six sacks on this week, and seven straight wins to their name.

Those last four games come against teams with winning records, but none of them as strong as the Broncos’ 8-2. Three of those will be in Denver. To wit:

12/14 – Green Bay (currently 5-2-1)
12/21 – Jacksonville (currently 5-3)
Christmas Day – @ Kansas City (currently 5-4)
1/4 – San Diego (currently 6-3)

While it’s hard to picture this currently-stumbling team running the table on the way out, it’s even harder to picture them not coming out of these last seven games with at least three wins, which would nearly ensure them a playoff spot, and be an improvement on last year’s record. It’s not the glory they are currently shooting for, but it’s a decided step forward. 10 games into last season, the team was 5-5. before going on a four-game winning streak. With the Chiefs already having lost two more games this year than they did all of last season, it’s not just another playoff berth that is tantalizingly close, it’s their first AFC West title in 10 years…

If only.

Seven more games to play, and currently pacing towards a 13- or 14-win season for the first time since a certain sheriff was in town. Wouldn’t that be a nice sunset to ride off into? With several fourth quarter comebacks under their belts this year, and a 0-0 fourth quarter freeze-out helping them steal the “just win, baby” phrase from the Raiders for a game, the team has taken up Bishop’s phraseology. Even if Marcedes Lewis is the only Broncos player old enough to have even been around to have heard it back then (at a whopping three years old). Through all the hiccups, stumbles, bumbles, and fumbles, there has been enough great football from these Broncos to place them at the top of the league in Week 10. Tell ’em, Keith…

We’ve got them right where we want them.