After a disappointing five weeks, the Denver Broncos still have a golden opportunity ahead of them as they finish their last three games before the bye. When some of us in the fanbase initially looked at the Broncos’ schedule, many of us thought that the team would easily cruise to a 4-1 or 3-2 start. I guess some forgot how difficult it is to play in the NFL, and how much change the team has dealt with.
In hindsight, it wasn’t reasonable to expect the team to come out firing on all cylinders. Just look around the league; Matt Ryan and the Colts have been objectively worse than the Broncos, the Chargers’ rebuilt defense isn’t much better than last year, and the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams seemingly forgot how to play football.
Denver Broncos have a chance to get things right quickly
Denver isn’t in some special circumstance that other teams aren’t in. They are dealing with things that have limited their potential early in the season. Whether it’s a new quarterback and coaching staff in Denver, or a new quarterback in Indianapolis, or a ton more personnel on the Chargers, or a poor offensive line and personnel losses for the Rams, teams, even the best ones have hit rough patches this season.
What makes these teams truly good is their ability to dig themselves out of this mess. Would anyone be surprised if the Rams got themselves on a bit of a winning streak? I sure wouldn’t. Would anyone be surprised if the Colts figured some stuff out on offense with a former MVP and began playing more like many expected? I sure wouldn’t.
And would those in Broncos Country genuinely be shocked if a first-ballot Hall of Famer, nine-time Pro Bowler, and Super Bowl champion quarterback began to play better within the system? I wouldn’t be. You see, the Broncos are in a crucial spot in their season.
They’re currently (hopefully) taking advantage of their long rest period before their next game on Monday night against the Chargers. The 11-day off period is essentially a bye week in many ways. Hopefully, the players and coaches are taking advantage of the extra rest period.
A professional coaching staff should be able to recognize the opportunity they have in front of them. The Chargers have dealt with similar issues that the Broncos have this year. Many have said that the team is underachieving and are blaming the coach (Brandon Staley) for that.
Denver hasn’t had many issues winning at least one game against the Chargers each year. That’s a fact. Whether it was a historic collapse in the second half or an amazing gameplan on defense, the Broncos have been able to play the Chargers close in the post-Manning era.
After that, they get the Jets at home. The Jets are 3-2 but are clearly not a contending team this year. The Broncos shut them out at home last year and had a worse team. Could we expect them to win that game? I could. Their last game before the bye week is played in London against the Jaguars.
The Denver Broncos beat the Jaguars last season. Trevor Lawrence has played much better, but the Jaguars have dropped two games in a row. Again, would anyone be shocked if Russell Wilson outplayed Trevor Lawrence and the Broncos got the win?
Look, I’m not saying that the team is going to roll through their next three games, but what I am saying is that the team has a golden opportunity in front of them. The Denver Broncos have three winnable games on their schedule. Getting to 5-3 before the bye week gets them to a .625 winning percentage and would put them on pace for 11 wins this year.
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Please, Broncos Country, see the opportunity the team has in front of them. Recognize that this is a golden chance to get their season back on track.