Mile High Roundtable: Broncos vs. Washington | Week 8 | Predictions & Picks
There's no way around it. The Denver Broncos are a bad football team.
Or, at least, the Broncos have been bad the last quarter of the season. But with 10 games left to play, this team has a chance to turn the ship around.
Will it happen? Week 8's matchup vs. the 2-5 Washington Football Team is a great opportunity for the 3-4 Broncos to get right.
Here's how Mile High Huddle sees it unfolding on Sunday.
James Campbell (@JamesC_MHH) 6-1: The Broncos must be prepared and come out firing on Sunday. At a critical juncture in the season, this is a must-win game. However, Washington is better than its record. Last week, Washington played Green Bay tough, although they got bogged down five times in the red zone. With a balanced offense, the fear for the Broncos is that QB Taylor Heinicke and WR Terry McLaurin light up an underperforming secondary while RB Antonio Gibson gashes a weakened front seven. For the Broncos, Jerry Jeudy's possible return could be a huge shot in the arm for the offense as Teddy Bridgewater has missed that easy-separator early in the route, but the Washington front is no joke and the Broncos' offensive line will have its work cut out. On Peyton Manning's Ring-of-Fame day, unfortunately, these Broncos come up a little bit short.
Pick: Washington 23, Broncos 16
Kenneth Booker (@KennethMHH) 5-2: To stop their four-game skid, the Broncos will need to slow down Washington’s impressive defensive line. Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat, and Chase Young will be looking to create havoc in Denver’s backfield. It will be OC Pat Shurmur’s job to negate the trio's pass rush by expanding RB Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon's role in the offense. Not only because Williams and Gordon have proven they can produce, but to take some pressure off of the already hobbled Bridgewater. Look for Denver to feed off of the crowd in a last-ditch effort to save its season as it eeks out a fourth-quarter victory.
Pick: Broncos 23, Washington 20
Mike Evans (@MHHEvans) 3-4: Sunday’s game will determine whether the Broncos have learned the hard lessons from the rocky slopes of the past month. If the Broncos have fixed what is broken, we will see Bridgewater and the offense get off to a fast start and the defense assert itself to stop the WFT on key third-down situations. Equally important, Vic Fangio and his staff will out-scheme the opposing coaches. The Broncos and the ultimately 'get right'.
Pick: Broncos 24, Washington 17
Thomas Hall (@ThomasHallNFL) 5-2: It's difficult to trust this Broncos coaching staff to have the team prepared to play, therefore it's difficult to pick them to be victorious in any game going forward. Washington isn’t a great team, but they aren’t exactly pushovers, typically playing tough against the teams they've faced. Courtland Sutton and Jeudy should be able to do damage against a last-place pass defense but the Broncos defense will ultimately let the team down again as the WFT’s ground game as it steamrolls a weakened front seven.
Pick: Washington 17, Broncos 13
Chad Jensen (@ChadNJensen) 5-2: I want to believe the Broncos can get back on the winning track but I can't. The most concerning symptom of this team's four-game losing streak is how the light has left its eyes. The team captains are panicking and that anxiety trickles downhill. Apathy is indeed worse than anger and until I see the Broncos get damned mad about the brand of football they've been playing, I don't see the gameday results changing. Heinicke will torch the Broncos' reeling and over-paid secondary while Bridgewater will telegraph once and for all that he's no longer competent enough to lead this offense. This is the game Drew Lock gets inserted and there's no turning back from there for Fangio.
Pick: Washington 20, Broncos 17
Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) 4-3: In my six years covering this team, I've never had less confidence picking the Broncos. Especially recently, having gotten burned against the Raiders and Browns, in particular. But after 10 days, and with the return of Jeudy, combined with how dreadful overall Washington is, something is nagging me to take Denver in what will be a slug-'em-out victory that (temporarily) keeps their season afloat — and Fangio employed.
Pick: Broncos 23, Washington 19
Nick Kendell (@NickKendellMHH) 4-3: The Broncos seemingly are catching break after break and can't capitalize. This week, Denver gets another sliding team coming to Mile High in Washington. Denver is favored by three, but the Football Team has the most dominant unit on the field in their defensive line. Can the promised return of Jeudy be enough to help Denver earn a much-needed win? Not this time. Not until this team proves they can win again.
Pick: Washington 27, Broncos 16
Bob Morris (@BobMorrisSports) 5-2: The Broncos defense may be without Von Miller this week, another blow to a defense that has been decimated by injuries and even more by poor play and a head coach who appears to have too much on his plate and isn’t doing a good job of adjusting to the personnel he has. While getting Jeudy back should help the offense, the Broncos offense isn’t good enough to pick up the slack for a defense that is not performing anywhere near the level many expected. Washington isn’t a good team, and I don’t believe in the 'get right' talking point, but that doesn’t mean I expect a Broncos win. Until the defense gets its act together, regardless of injuries, I can’t trust the Broncos to get it done.
Pick: Washington 20, Broncos 17
Luke Patterson (@LukePattersonLP) 6-1: It’s fitting that this game will take place on Halloween because the outcome will be scary for the Broncos. Gibson has yet to log a 100-yard rushing game this season, and that’ll change on Sunday. The Broncos are the ‘get right’ team in the NFL and the WFT will play hard. Look for Young to beat up Bridgewater and the Broncos' O-line. Some guy named Heinicke will be the newest QB to embarrass Fangio’s defense on Manning’s ROF induction day. Five losses in a row. Vic, don’t change on us.
Pick: Washington 24, Broncos 13
Lance Sanderson (@SandersonMHH) 4-3: Over the past four weeks, the Broncos have looked more like a team that allows its opponents to 'get right' against than a true playoff contender. Pittsburgh couldn't run the ball until they played Denver. Lamar Jackson threw for his second career 300-yard game against the Broncos. The Browns ran roughshod through the Broncos with a third-string running back. And now, the WFT gets its 'get right' game to the tune of five sacks on Bridgewater. The tail spin continues.
Pick: Washington 23, Broncos 17
Erick Trickel (@ErickTrickel) 4-3: This is a game of two bad offenses and two underperforming defenses. Denver has shown they can beat bad teams and that is exactly what Washington is with a defense that's been worse and an offense that's not much better. However, Washington can run the ball well which has been where the Broncos defense has really struggled. Denver is able to win this one, though not as easily as it beat the 'bad' teams at the start of the season.
Pick: Broncos 27, Washington 19
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