Broncos Country, make up your minds, please
The Denver Broncos are 3-0 after the first three weeks of the season, and it seems Broncos Country is a bit divided on the team’s success thus far.
The Denver Broncos did exactly what they were supposed to do in their first three games.
All of Broncos Country saw the absolute cakewalk on the team’s schedule to start the year.
The New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets are a combined 0-9. They’re all terrible.
Many of us thought the first three games would be a perfect chance to start the season on the right foot. Starting 3-0, or even 2-1 at worst would give the Denver Broncos their best start in the Vic Fangio era.
It’s been years since the team enjoyed early season success, and weeks 1-3 provided a great opportunity to reverse this curse.
And guess what? They won all three games.
Why are some fans still a bit uneasy about the team?
Broncos Country seems to be most active on Twitter and seeing some of the tweets after the game made me scratch my head.
Many of them believe that we should pump the brakes on the team, seeing as their opponents thus far are all horrible teams. They cite their 0-9 combined record and putrid QB play.
Yes, the Broncos should have beaten these teams, but they didn’t just beat them. Rather, they blew the doors off of each team, and the statistics through three games are otherworldly.
I know it must be hard for the Negative Nancies to enjoy a 3-0 start. Surely the Broncos must be frauds since they beat three professional football teams, two of which were on the road!
The truth is the Broncos are 1st in the AFC West and have set themselves up perfectly for the rest of the season. They’re getting the attention they deserve, and Teddy Bridgewater has been exactly what he’s supposed to be.
But I want to direct the rest of my words towards those who are still finding reasons to complain about the Broncos 3-0 start.
What more did you want? The Broncos didn’t have control over their schedule. Vic Fangio and Teddy Bridgewater didn’t sit down in the offseason and pick which teams they’d play and when.
Let’s face it, you’ve been in a world of suck for the better part of five years and know don’t know what to do with yourself now that the Broncos appear to be a really good team.
Let’s look at just how good they’ve been, though.
Currently, they are 5th in the NFL in turnover differential. They are first in the NFL in total time of possession, averaging 36:35 a game holding the ball. That means their opponents only hold the ball for roughly 24 minutes a game, which is phenomenal.
The absolute best possible thing a team can do to win games, besides scoring a lot of points, is keeping the ball from the opposing team, and that’s exactly what the Broncos do.
The Broncos rank 11th in the NFL in scoring, which is not great, but certainly very good and is plenty good enough to make a deep playoff run.
The Broncos are also 1st in the league in scoring defense, holding their opponents to 8.7 points per game, recently pitching a shut out against the Jets.
Teddy Bridgewater also has not thrown an interception this season, and ranks 5th in the NFL in passer rating, posting a 116.4 through three games.
Bridgewater also ranks third in the NFL in QBR, posting a 78.0 rating.
What more could this team have done for all the negative talk through three games to stop? This is the best football the team has played since they won the Super Bowl in 2015.
I get that the first three games were easier, but let’s face it; the Broncos are on a torrid pace right now, and have maintained consistency through three weeks.
The Broncos also have eight more homes games remaining, and Denver, as we know, is one of the hardest places to play in the NFL.
Even further, teams that looked very tough on the schedule in the offseason don’t look as tough now.
The Pittsburgh Steelers look awful, the Ravens just needed a 66-yard field goal to beat the hopeless Lions, and the Washington Football Team has severely underperformed thus far.
I’m not saying the Denver Broncos will be 8-0 here soon, but I think we need to give this team the credit they deserve.