The Denver Broncos will be in must-win mode in Week 10.
At this stage of the season, all games are extremely important and no loss is a good one. But for the 3-5 Denver Broncos, a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders could have the team planning for the future.
After a crushing loss to the Atlanta Falcons in which they had a chance to get to .500, the Broncos have lost precious ground in the AFC West division.
The Kansas City Chiefs are 8-1 and let’s be honest, they are going to win this division. The Raiders sit at 5-3 and are the team that handed the Chiefs their only defeat. The Broncos are two games behind the Raiders and a loss on Sunday would put them three games behind.
That would be tough to overcome in terms of a playoff spot as it is not likely three teams from this division are going to make the playoffs.
A win won’t come easily, either. These are not the Raiders of recent years. As stated, they are the only team to put a blemish on Kansas City’s record this season and they have wins over solid teams such as the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns.
This will be Denver’s first ever trip to Vegas where the Raiders actually have a losing home record this season. The Broncos are 2-2 on the road, getting wins in New England and New York against the Jets.
The trouble for the Broncos is their remaining schedule. When you see that, it outlines how important this Week 10 game is. Here are the team’s next five games, starting with an up-and-coming Miami Dolphins squad.
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Week 11 vs. Miami
Week 12 vs. New Orleans
Week 13 at Kansas City
Week 14 at Carolina
Week 15 vs. Buffalo
The Broncos could easily be the underdog in every one of those games and if the team takes its sixth loss of the season on Sunday, they would likely have to win four of these five games to stay relevant in the playoff picture.
The goal of this season, at the very least, should be to secure a playoff spot and end the team’s long postseason drought, especially with there being seven playoff teams per conference this season.
This Broncos team may not be good enough to be a playoff team this season, but a loss on Sunday to the Raiders may very well guarantee they won’t be.