Four Broncos takeaways from NFL's Week 1 slate of games
It's so great to finally be able to say football is back. Thursday’s Week 1 game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers (Denver's next two opponents) left a lot of people a little frustrated with the product on the field.
Thankfully, Sunday did not disappoint with games being replete with explosive plays and some contests that couldn’t even be decided in regulation. For the Denver Broncos, there were some situations that broke in their favor with some teams thought to be possible threats for the playoffs losing.
On the other hand, the two teams in the AFC West that played both won their games. Sunday showed just how important getting off on the right foot could be for the Broncos if they want a chance at the playoffs.
Winning or losing won’t eliminate them from the playoffs or bounce them into the playoff conversation, obviously, but a loss could derail the season before it hardly gets started. Let’s look at a few reasons why the Broncos need this win.
AFC is very top-heavy
It's safe to assume that the top-2 teams in the AFC from last year — the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots — are still very good teams this year. No one should overreact to Week 1 in the NFL too much, but both of those teams added some talented players to their rosters and looked like they picked up right where they left off last season.
After those two Divisional foes, it really is a mess to figure out who else will emerge in the AFC. Baltimore and Tennessee won in blowouts this week, but I don’t think their wins proved they are the real deal.
Tennessee has a very legit defense this season, but it will be interesting to see what happens when a team shuts down the run game and dares the Titans to win on the arm of Marcus Mariota. Baltimore obviously embarrassed the Dolphins to the point rumors circulated that many of the players want to be traded.
Beyond those blowouts was a mix of teams that showed early struggles and some weaknesses within their rosters. Again, no one should overreact to Week 1, but some of the weaknesses some thought coming into the season showed up for these teams.
A great example is the Chargers. Even in victory, L.A. showed that its offensive line is going to be a major problem. Philip Rivers walked away from the game, but can he continue to take that many hits?
The other team in that game of the Indianapolis Colts showed they have talent around Jacoby Brissett, but right now hard to know if he is enough to carry that talented roster to the playoffs.
All of this to say that if the Broncos can get off to a good start to the season, they could find themselves right there fighting for a playoff spot.
Strength of schedule
Let me start with saying that trying to gauge future success off past results especially in the NFL doesn’t always work very well. Teams that finished in the bottom-10 the year before can quickly climb into playoff contenders the very next season.
So, strength-of-schedule needs to be looked at through that lens of parity. The Broncos do face a lot of teams that have had consistent success in recent years. On top of that, Denver will face some of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
Of course, the Broncos have Patrick Mahomes and Rivers twice this season. Others that Denver will face include Aaron Rodgers, DeShaun Watson, Baker Mayfield, and Matthew Stafford.
As it sits right now, the Broncos have the second-toughest schedule in the NFL. We'll have to see whether that holds up clear to the end of the year, but it just shows that victories probably will not come easy this season.
One of the few teams that the Broncos should have a clear advantage against talent-wise are the Oakland Raiders. They just lost their most talented player in one of the more bizarre series of events in recent NFL history.
Both sides of the ball have some major holes that will be relying on young players to step up. Usually, it takes a while for young players to get used to everything happening in a true NFL game. This should give the Broncos an opportunity to jump out early in this game and come away with a win.
Divisional implications
This is an obvious statement, but it is one that needs to be made. If the Broncos lose this game to the Raiders, they will already be in dead last for the Division. Falling behind, especially with a divisional loss that should count more like a game and a half, just makes a potential climb to the playoffs that much harder.
The Broncos cannot afford to lose to the teams they are expected to beat. They must sneak a couple of other wins as underdogs as the season progresses on top of winning the expected matchups.
Right now, most in the NFL expects the Chiefs and Chargers to be two of the top teams in the AFC. The Broncos really do need to win both games against the Raiders and hope for splits with the other two teams. If Denver can finish 4-2 in the division, the team will stand a very good chance of making the playoffs this year. Losing this one to the Raiders would make that a very tall task to accomplish.
New coaching staff
The Broncos' players have all said the right things the entire offseason. They have been very optimistic of this coaching staff and how things are different compared to the last couple of years.
Vic Fangio has done a great job of being honest with the media, coming across as a coach who seems to know what he is doing. As the old saying goes “talk is cheap”.
The Broncos need to start off well this season to help build the confidence of the message that Fangio has been preaching to this team all offseason. Locker rooms are a powder keg. A few losses and what looks like a strong unified group can quickly ignite and unravel.
Early wins can help build confidence that raises the play of the entire team as the season progresses. Momentum is a real thing in sports and the Broncos need to build that early momentum to carry them through the gauntlet that is the second half of their schedule.
Beyond Fangio, the coach that has the most pressure on him to perform is that of OC Rich Scangarello. He comes from a very well-respected coaching tree and is highly-regarded by his past mentors.
That's why the San Francisco 49ers tried to block any team from talking to Scangarello this past offseason. All of that is great, but if he goes out and lays an egg against a Raiders’ defense that was considered by many one of the worst in the league last year, that will not bode well for building confidence in future games. Scangarello needs to scheme the offense into some rhythm early in this game, as next week the Broncos may be facing the best defense in all of football at Empower Stadium at Mile High.
Final thoughts
This has been a long offseason. The Broncos have made changes throughout the staff and roster. They seem to be on the right track to get things going in the right direction.
A win against the Raiders would go a long way in showing this is a different team than the past couple of years. Winning what is likely to be the final road game in the Black Hole for the Broncos, when they have recently struggled in Oakland, would also be a nice cherry on top of this historic rivalry.
Both teams are looking for any sign of heading in the right direction. A loss doesn’t destroy this season, but it for sure makes life very difficult climbing out of that hole moving forward.
Follow Carl on Twitter @CarlDumlerMHH and @MileHighHuddle.
