AFC West Season Predictions: Midseason Review
By Aric Manthey
Dec 22, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; General view of a Denver Broncos helmet on the sidelines against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Back before the season started, I wrote an article predicting the regular season record and my take on each AFC West team. I fully admit that I had some predictions that ended up being far different from how the first half of the season actually panned out, but that’s the fun in making pre-season predictions.
With that said, I decided that now would be a good time to review how each AFC West team has fared half way into the regular season and how I see them finishing the season.
Denver Broncos
Pre-season Prediction: 11-5
Current Record: 7-1
Revised Record Prediction: 13-3
My Take: Like I mentioned earlier in this article, I had a few predictions that were quite a bit off the mark (especially with our beloved Broncos).
I knew the offense would have some struggles and I knew the defense would be good, but I never would have imagined that those two statements would have taken on such drastic realizations.
If they can keep pace for the rest of the season, this defense may go down as statistically the best defense the Broncos have ever had with the 1977 unit as the only group that could rival it.
With today’s modern game geared towards bloated offensive production, it’s incredible to see how well this defense has fared against these modern NFL offenses. As for the offense, despite the spike in production over the last two games, they still serve as the team’s Achilles heel. It’s imperative that they find consistency because we can’t rely on the defense to continue bailing to the team out of close games.
Finally, Manning is just not the same QB. Regardless of what people may say about his age, injuries or change in offensive philosophy, it’s become clear to me that this season is likely going to be Manning’s swan song in the NFL. Hopefully the offense can find a groove and finish strong in order to give Manning the team he needs to make presumably one final push for another Super Bowl title.
They have some tough matchups ahead with New England and Cincinnati coming to Denver along with a road trip to Pittsburgh lingering down the road. I expect them to drop two of these games and finish with a 13-3 record and a fifth straight AFC West title.
Next: Kansas City Chiefs