Previewing Broncos' Remaining Opponents Down the Stretch
It seems like it wasn't long ago when Denver Broncos fans were calling for heads to roll after starting the season at 0-3. To make matters worse, the Broncos' defense made two mediocre opponents look good and made a good offense look like the world-beater of the decade.
But the Broncos entered the bye week with back-to-back victories, including an upset over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos' defense, which gave up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, gave up just nine in Week 8 and forced five turnovers.
After the Dolphins game, I tweeted that the Broncos would be lucky to win three games all season. And here the Broncos are with three wins to their credit, which means my tweet isn't aging well.
But while I still believe the Broncos need to rebuild, there's a real chance they will finish with at least six wins — and the way things are going for their opponents, it's not out of the question that this team could finish with a winning record.
Setting aside questions about whether or not a winning record is the best thing for the Broncos, let's preview their upcoming opponents and determine what we can expect from them.
Week 10: Buffalo Bills
Week 11: Minnesota Vikings
Week 12: Cleveland Browns
Week 13: Houston Texans
Weeks 14 & 17: Los Angeles Chargers
Week 15: Detroit Lions
Week 16: New England Patriots
Week 18: Las Vegas Raiders
Remember that season opener against the Raiders? The Broncos' offense looked good enough, but the defense couldn't force a single punt. And that came even though the Broncos' defense did enough to contain Josh Jacobs, who has had a field day against them in recent seasons and is undefeated vs. Denver.
Since that time, the Raiders' offense has looked awful, the defense hasn't been much better, and head coach Josh McDaniels and his hand-picked GM Dave Ziegler have been fired. The Raiders did win big over the New York Giants in Week 9, but that doesn't mean they've turned things around.
If the Raiders continue to struggle, Broncos fans will certainly not be happy if the defense fails to force a punt again — unless, of course, it happens because the Broncos forced a turnover on all but the final Raiders drive of the game that happened to end on a failed fourth-down conversion.
Seriously, if the Broncos truly are an improved team in the second half, then they should be able to avenge their opening-week loss. If they aren't an improved team, at the very least, we should hope the defense gets more stops in Raiders territory and doesn't force the offense to carry the load.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!