The Denver Broncos have had a whirlwind of a season through the first eight weeks. While things have not gone anywhere near what many expected them to, the Broncos are entering the bye week with a 3-5 record.
Looking at these predictions, I was one that thought the Broncos would be much better as well. It’s always difficult to pick a team to lose a game, but this is not a good football team, even if they did finally get a victory.
The Broncos moved Bradley Chubb before the trade deadline, something many saw as the team waving the white flag on the season. However, there are many reasons why general manager George Paton made the correct decision.
The Broncos will now get some much-needed rest after returning from London and will return to action in Week 10. Based on what we now know of these Broncos, who have also been smacked around by the injury bug this year, here are my game-by-game predictions for the rest of the season.
Broncos game-by-game picks following the bye week
Week 10 at Tennessee Titans
The Titans are a good team. They’re a better team than the Broncos. But there are a couple of factors that give the Broncos a chance to take this game.
The Broncos will be coming off a lot of rest, riding high after ending a long losing skid. The Titans were without Ryan Tannehill in their last game.
Derrick Henry is a machine, but if you can stop him, you can beat this team. The Broncos can be susceptible to the run, but if Malik Willis is the quarterback, they can stack the box.
The Titans also play on Sunday night this week, making their week that much shorter against a team coming off a long layoff. It won’t be pretty, but the Broncos get the job done.
Pick: Broncos 17, Titans 16
Record: 4-5
Week 11 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
The Broncos already lost once to the Raiders this season, allowing them their first victory of the year. That took the Raiders’ streak to five straight wins over the Broncos.
Since getting that victory over Denver to go to 1-3 on the year, the Raiders have only gotten one more and their season has been just as disappointing as Denver’s.
The Broncos need to get this one and end this losing streak to the Raiders. A win here will start to give Broncos fans some false hope but they will get this one too.
Pick: Broncos 20, Raiders 17
Record: 5-5
Week 12 at Carolina Panthers
Oh boy, here comes that optimism again. It will go away as this schedule gets harder, but this is another winnable game for the Broncos.
The Panthers have been one of the few teams that have looked worse than the Broncos this year and that led to the in-season dismissal of head coach Matt Rhule. Since then, the Panthers have looked much better under interim coach Steve Wilks, even if they are down to their third-string quarterback.
This is one of those games where you look at it and think the Broncos should win it, but this year’s Broncos could easily lose to any team in the league. And just as they get to .500 and get fans talking about a turnaround, they’ll have another dud here.
Pick: Panthers 16, Broncos 13
Record: 5-6
Week 13 at Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have dealt with multiple injuries this season, much like they did last year, but they are always a solid, well-coached team.
The Broncos will struggle in this one defending the Ravens’ rushing attack and one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league in Lamar Jackson. The Ravens will also have little trouble slowing down what has been a problematic Broncos offense, which will still be having issues at this point in the season and likely to the end of it.
Pick: Ravens 24, Broncos 13
Record: 5-7
Week 14 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
When the schedule was released, this game was circled as the one where the Broncos finally ended the losing streak against Kansas City, which currently sits at 13 in a row.
Everything was set up nicely. The Broncos had gotten Russell Wilson. They were going to have a high-powered offense and they were going to get to mold that offense all the way into mid-December before having to face the Chiefs.
The Chiefs had lost Tyreek Hill so clearly they weren’t going to be as good, right?
So much for all of the preseason talk. The Chiefs are still easily the best team in the division and they will make it 14 in a row against the Broncos here.
Pick: Chiefs 27, Broncos 17
Record: 5-8
Week 15 vs. Arizona Cardinals
In a battle of teams that should be better than they are, the Cardinals might have even more issues than Denver does.
Kyler Murray has been up and down all year and head coach Kliff Kingsbury seems to be a name on the hot seat. Where will Nathaniel Hackett be on the hot-seat level by this point in the season?
This will be one of those games where each team tries to give it away a few times, similar to when the Broncos played the Indianapolis Colts earlier this season, but this time the Broncos will come out on top.
Pick: Broncos 23, Cardinals 21
Record: 6-8
Week 16 at Los Angeles Rams
A Christmas Day game against the defending champs is what awaits the Broncos here, though this game does not seem anywhere near as difficult as it did when the schedule came out.
That is because the Rams have struggled this season and may not even make the playoffs after winning it all last year. That said, they will likely still have something to play for at this point in the season while the Broncos’ chances will be on their last legs.
Pick: Rams 19, Broncos 16
Record: 6-9
Week 17 at Kansas City Chiefs
The old 11:00 a.m. kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium, a game that rarely goes well for the Broncos and that will be the case again here.
The Chiefs could be wrapping up a division title in this one, if they haven’t already, and they will put the pedal to the metal against the Broncos.
The Broncos won’t roll over. They will show some heart in this game and put up a fight as they have done several times during the lengthy losing streak to Kansas City. But in the end, the combination of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid just ends up being too much.
Pick: Chiefs 31, Broncos 23
Record: 6-10
Week 18 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers could still be fighting for a playoff spot in this game but the Broncos are going to throw the kitchen sink at them in this one.
The Broncos always play the Chargers tough and that was the case in their earlier meeting this season. Whether this will be enough to save Nathaniel Hackett’s job will be questionable, as his offense will struggle and look putrid until the team hits the finish line, but they go out with a great showing here.
Pick: Broncos 24, Chargers 19
Final Record: 7-10