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4 reasons the Denver Broncos could finish last place in 2022

By Sayre Bedinger

ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO - JUNE 13: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Denver Broncos attends their mandatory mini-camp at UCHealth Training Center on June 13, 2022 in Englewood, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO - JUNE 13: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Denver Broncos attends their mandatory mini-camp at UCHealth Training Center on June 13, 2022 in Englewood, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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The AFC West is going to be brutal in 2022, but what reasons could eventually lead to the Denver Broncos finishing in last place again?

Recently, the Good Morning Football crew had a lively discussion about which team would finish in last place in the AFC West.

It’s a fascinating question that got some interesting answers from the panel…

The question is certainly not without merit. Who is going to finish last place in the AFC West?

Unfortunately, it’s been the Denver Broncos in the last couple of years. The Broncos have been in QB purgatory and have struggled badly since Peyton Manning retired.

This offseason, however, the team acquired Russell Wilson and vaulted forward in a huge way, not just in the AFC West but the AFC and even NFL as a whole.

The GMFB crew seemingly had a hard time picking anyone but the Broncos as the last place finisher in the AFC West, and specifically the primary reasons sounded like this:

  • Russell Wilson is not a top-5 QB in the NFL
  • The Raiders got Davante Adams and he played college ball with Derek Carr
  • The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes
  • The Chargers have Justin Herbert

Those are as good of reasons as I’ve ever heard…(note the sarcasm)

The absolute garbage reasons this panel gave as to why the Broncos could actually finish last place in the division got me thinking — how could this atrocity happen again?

I came up with a few reasons that I think are actually valid.

Denver Broncos
DENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 08: Bradley Chubb #55 of the Denver Broncos tackles Darrel Williams #31 of the Kansas City Chiefs for a loss in the first quarter of a game at Empower Field at Mile High on January 8, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Reason no. 4 the Denver Broncos could finish last place: The run defense stinks again

The Denver Broncos’ run defense ranked 15th in the NFL last season, which obviously doesn’t look that bad on paper.

At least, not until you consider that they had been one of the best run defenses in the NFL in the early portion of the season.

The Broncos only allowed over 100 rushing yards twice in the first six games of the year.

They followed that by allowing over 100 yards in every game for the rest of the season except for one.

The Broncos were absolutely gashed on the ground in games against the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and Las Vegas Raiders, and the team’s porous run defense cost them dearly throughout the season.

With some better performances against the run, the Broncos might have won nine or 10 games last year.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know.

The run defense is critical because the Broncos’ success against the run will help determine how successful their pass defense is. You have to get teams into obvious passing situations to make things easier on the pass rush and secondary.

If the run defense is bad again this season, the Broncos might not be able to close out games and close wins or losses could be the difference between first and last place in the AFC West.

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