Broncos stand in a fine spot, nine of next 10 opponents didn’t win Week 1
Sep 14, 2022, 9:33 AM
Two days after the disappointing finish against the Seahawks, maybe Broncos Country needs to take a deep breath.
Yes, Denver is 0-1 after a brutal 17-16 loss. But so is nearly half the league. The only thing preventing it from being exactly half the NFL is the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts playing to a Week 1 tie.
And good news! The Texans and Colts are both on Denver’s schedule in the coming weeks. Houston visits Denver on Sunday, where the Broncos are huge favorites, and Indy will be here on a Thursday night in early October.
In fact, a crazy statistic has emerged. Nine of Denver’s next 10 opponents did not win their Week 1 contest. We knew the front end of this schedule was going to be easier than the tough final six games, but that is a wild development.
As mentioned, the Texans tied. After that, the 49ers dropped one to the Bears. The Raiders fell to the Chargers and the Colts tied as well. Week 6 will feature a visit to Los Angeles to play the Chargers, the only team that won to start the year. Week 7 is home against the Jets, who lost the Ravens. The following week is the Jaguars in London; they collapsed in Washington last Sunday.
After the bye, the Broncos head to Tennessee, where the Titans gagged a game against the Giants this past weekend. Week 11 sees Las Vegas come to the Mile High City and Week 12 is a visit to Carolina, where the Browns defeated the Panthers on opening weekend.
There are two big takeaways here. First of all, losses happen. Yes, the Broncos defeat happened in painful fashion on a huge stage, but plenty of other cities are going through the same emotions as Denver fans right now.
Second, this schedule is indeed very manageable between now and the end of November. That’s when the Broncos will wrap up their 11th game of the year.
Could Denver be 7-4 at that point or even 8-3? Without a doubt. All these upcoming teams showed their flaws. Heck, our own James Merilatt thinks they’ll be 7-1 at the bye, poised to reel off a monster winning streak after the loss to Seattle.
It’s too early to start looking at the AFC playoff picture, but it’s not too early to start looking down the road. And right now the schedule continues to look favorable for Denver.
Getting back on track starts with blowing out a bad Houston team in Russell Wilson’s home debut. Broncos Country will be ready to ride.
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