Broncos now face a tough road to a playoff berth
By John Livingston | November 24, 2009
The Denver Broncos dropped to 6-4 with their loss to the division rival San Diego Chargers on Sunday, leaving the playoff picture looking incredibly murky. The Broncos fell from their position of division leader to being on the outside looking in at a wild card birth all in one week and will have to turn it around in this same week against the New York Giants on Thanksgiving night.
After a 6-0 start all the Broncos had to do was beat lesser teams to coast to a playoff bid. Now, after four straight losses, they are gonna have to beat some quality teams and not let up until the season is over. After the Broncos face the Giants this week the competition remains stiff as they face the AFC West division rival Oakland Raiders as well as the Kansas City Chiefs twice, along with two tough road games against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts and NFC East contending Philadelphia Eagles.
The Broncos now find themselves behind the Jacksonville Jaguars and the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card race and will need one of them to falter down the stretch if they are going to advance to the post-season for the first time since the 05-06 season. It seems as though the Steelers have what it takes to win and scratch their ticket to the playoffs so the Broncos will look toward the the Jaguars to lose some games.
The Jags face a few tests to end the season including games against the Colts, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, and their division rival Houston Texans. The Texans are also battling for their playoff life but as it stands now, Broncos fans have to be rooting for Gary Kubiak and his Texans in that game. They will also be rooting for the Colts, Pats Dolphins to get wins against the Jags and limit the Jags to potentially two more wins against the San Fransisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns.
The Baltimore Ravens, who hold a tie breaker via their head-to-head win over the Broncos, are also on the outside looking in at the wild-card and they will try to make their move starting this weekend when they face the Steelers, who they play twice to finish the year. Broncos fans can hope that the two AFC North power-houses split the two games against each other and drop a few other games late down the stretch.
None of this will matter however if the Broncos do not do their part to win some games. It begins this week with what the team must be viewing as a must win against the Giants. The Giants, despite a win last week against the Atlanta Falcons, have also been in a funk as of late and have also fallen to 6-4 and are in their own playoff battle in the NFC. The Broncos will need quarterback Kyle Orton and the rest of the team to show up healthy and ready to play mistake free football.
The offensive line has looked weak since the loss of Ryan Harris and Broncos fans should be excited to hear that he returned to practice today. Orton and Brian Dawkins also practiced today while they continue to battle injuries and Orton should be a lock to play. Hopefully Dawkins will be available this week for the Giants as he is nursing an injured neck.
The Broncos have been killing themselves the last four weeks, whether it has been special teams or offensive turnovers. This will need to end if they are going to have a chance at the Giants, let alone the playoffs. This will also be a key to the remaining Broncos AFC West contests with two games against the Chiefs and one more at home against the Raiders. All three are must wins if the team drops to the Colts and potentially on the road to the Eagles but as all fans know, sweeping an AFC West opponent is always a challenge. The Chiefs showed that they will be a competitor with their win over the Steelers last week and they are always a tough match-up at Arrowhead Stadium in the later months of the season. The Raiders have also showed promise at times with wins over the AFC North division leading Cincinnati Bengals last week and another win over the Eagles. The Broncos have to hope those wins from the Raiders are just black hole flukes and that the team will show its true form when they come into Invesco Field at Mile High in week 15.
There is little chance at winning the division now as the Chargers face a very friendly schedule to end their season with forseeable wins over the Chiefs, Browns, Titans and Redskins and potentially more with games against the Dallas Cowboys and at home against the Bengals.
Either way you look at it the Broncos will need some teams to lose that are in front of them in the playoff picture and they will undoubtedly have to get back on track and return to their early season form if they are going to have a shot. The Broncos and their fans are craving at least one playoff game this year after the teams hot start and nothing could validate first year head coach Josh McDaniels more than a solid finish that puts the Broncos in the post-season.
Recent Posts
Write a comment