The Denver Broncos have never been closer to taking the AFC West back for their own. Can they do that in 2025?
You get the sense that the 2025 Denver Broncos is shaping up to be the best Broncos team in quite some time. This is now the third year of the Sean Payton era, so he's now had a good bit of time to mold the roster in his image.
And it also gives recent draft picks another year to hone their skills and breakout. Denver went 10-7 in the 2024 NFL Season and actually nearly swept the Kansas City Chiefs. They've beaten KC two out of the last three times they've played and were a lot closer to each other than the 15-2 and 10-7 records may indicate.
Can Denver take the AFC West back for themselves in 2025? Some people truly think they can.
Broncos predicted to win the AFC West in 2025...
Jeffri Chadiha of NFL.com predicted that the Denver Broncos would capture the AFC West title for the first time since the 2015 NFL Season. Here is some of what he had to say:
"The Broncos have an elite defense, and it looks like they landed a franchise quarterback in Bo Nix in last year's draft. We know Payton can coach up the offense, especially as the Broncos add more playmakers. We've also seen how Denver gave Kansas City fits last season in Arrowhead, with a blocked field goal keeping them from securing an impressive upset. Denver is good enough to win this division now. With the other teams also creating more resistance to the Chiefs -- who went 5-1 in the AFC West after resting their starters in a Week 18 loss to the Broncos -- Denver will earn its first crown since Peyton Manning was their quarterback."Jeffri Chadiha
Not only does Denver have a better roster, but they do have some untapped potential in Bo Nix, and you just never know how good Nix could be in 2025. Denver's also got the better offensive line, secondary, pass rush, and may have better offensive weapons.
The Chiefs only advantages over the Broncos in 2025 might be QB and their linebacker group. Sure, Denver would have to learn how to closeout and win games in 2025, as they struggled with that last year, but that was kind of expected with last year's team.
Denver is a year more experienced and have taken the right track in rebuilding this team, having gone from five, to eight, to 10 wins over the last three seasons. The Chiefs also won all of their one-score games in 2024, and it just feels massively unlikely that they're able to do that yet again in 2025.
With the amount of talent that Denver added and the possibility that KC isn't able to again win 15 games in 2025, the AFC West is absolutely in play.