Here’s how the 17th game could make all the difference for the Broncos in the playoff race

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When it comes to the order of games, the Broncos’ regular-season-ending contest with the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 9 is their 17th game.

But in scheduling purposes, the 17th game — the matchup in the schedule rotation that didn’t previously exist — took place last Sunday.

And for both the Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals, the 17th game could have a profound impact on their playoff hopes.

As the fourth-place team in the AFC West last year, Denver’s 17th game was against the fourth-place team in the NFC North. So, the Broncos got the closest thing to a free space on the game board of an NFL season: a home game against Detroit Lions team that entered 1-10-1 with a slew of players on the COVID-19 list and several more who were injured, including Detroit’s best offensive player, tight end T.J. Hockenson.

The result was predictable: Denver never trailed en route to a 38-10 laugher.

Meanwhile, at the same time, the Bengals played their 17th game. Like the Broncos, they were a fourth-place team in 2020. Unlike the Broncos, the schedule makers paired the AFC North with the NFC West, which means Cincinnati drew the San Francisco 49ers, losing 26-23 in overtime.

In a wild-card race that currently has nine teams with 6 or 7 losses apiece, the performance in the 17th game could prove decisive. And of the teams in the mix, the Broncos had by far the weakest opponent from this contest.

• BUFFALO: Faced Washington (6-7), won 43-21.
• CINCINNATI: Faced San Francisco (7-6), lost 26-23 (OT).
• CLEVELAND: Faced Arizona (10-3), lost 37-14.
• DENVER: Faced Detroit (1-10-1), won 38-10.
• INDIANAPOLIS:: Faced Tampa Bay (10-3), lost 38-31.
• LAS VEGAS: Faced Chicago (4-9), lost 20-9.
• LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: Faced Minnesota (6-7), lost 27-20.
• MIAMI: Will face New Orleans (6-7), result TBD.
• PITTSBURGH: Faced Seattle (5-8), won 23-20 (OT).

And then there is the impact of the other two games on the schedule determined by last year’s division placement. For the Broncos, this gave them games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets, two contests the Broncos won by a combined 49-7 score.

So, that means the three games that were set entirely by the Broncos’ 5-11, fourth-place finish last year were against teams that are currently a combined 6-32-1 — a less-than-stellar .167 winning percentage.

None of the other AFC teams with either six or seven losses had those three opponents on the schedule accumulate worse than a collective .436 winning percentage.

This isn’t to dismiss the Broncos’ improvement from irrelevancy in the previous four years to contention today. But the schedule does matter, and like it or not, for the Broncos, it did them favors — which means the NFL’s scheduling rotation and its overall efforts to achieve parity are working as intended.