Who would have thought that going into week 13 of the NFL season the Denver Broncos would be 6-5 and on the outside looking in? The Broncos have a crucial game Sunday morning against CJ Stroud and the explosive Houston Texans.
So how exactly did the Denver Broncos turn things around?
The turnaround started off with Vance Joseph’s defense. The defense started the year off horribly, allowing the Dolphins to score 70 points! The defense was the main reason the team started the season off 1-5. During the first 4 weeks of the year, the defense allowed 20 offensive touchdowns, the most in the Super Bowl era. Through the team’s last 5 games, the defense has been a top 5 unit. In the 2 games against the Chiefs and the Bills, the defense has caused 9 turnovers. The coverage has been amazing, and the players have been able to knock out footballs.
Through the three week stretch of the Packers, Chiefs, and Bills games the Denver defense has only allowed two touchdowns. They held the defending Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs, to zero touchdowns. The defense has allowed less than 21 points each game through the last five weeks. Everyone on the defensive unit has held their own.
So what else changed within the Broncos?
Well, nothing big changed, Russell Wilson has been playing at an elite level all year. Through 11 games Russ has 20 touchdowns compared to 4 interceptions, the best td-int ratio in the whole league. Russ’ 4 interceptions are the least amount by a starting QB in the NFL. Though Russell Wilson’s yards are nothing special, Russ has been extremely efficient. Russ is back to his usual form.
The last weeks have also allowed running back Javontae Williams to get back into form. Williams, who started off the season extremely slow, has come alive these last three weeks. Williams has had 82, 85, and 79 yards over the last weeks while having 15 or more carries in each game. Coach Sean Payton is using Samaje Perine like he was using Alvin Kamara in New Orleans, a receiving threat on 3rd downs.
Through these past weeks, the Broncos team has looked like a completely different team than the one that started the year. Sean Payton has put life back into this team. The rest of the Broncos schedule is winnable. Every single game can end with a Broncos win. The rest of the season will demonstrate how badly the Broncos want to win.
To secure a wildcard spot the Broncos can really only lose 2 games. They cannot lose to the Chargers or Raiders, and they must hope the Raiders fall off a cliff and the Chargers keep shooting themselves in the foot.
In mid to late October I had no faith in my Denver Broncos, but now with 6 games left the Broncos have a real chance to be a playoff team.
