The Denver Broncos come into the NFL playoffs with the right formula to make a run. Could the team pull off the upset against the Buffalo Bills? Didn't the Broncos know that they had the 31st-best roster in the NFL and a QB that wasn't supposed to get drafted in the first round?
Didn't they know that they weren't supposed to be good this year? How dare they.
The Broncos don't know any better, and that's a scary thing
The Broncos have proved just about everyone wrong, and even the people that were 'higher' on the team coming into the season probably didn't think they were going to win 10 games and make the playoffs. They said Sean Payton couldn't coach anymore, said that Bo Nix was a third-round talent, and said that the roster wasn't good.
And all Denver has done is go 10-5 over their final 15 games and shock the NFL world by making the playoffs. It's flat-out insane just how good Denver has been this year. There is something to say here about a team going into the postseason that just doesn't know any better.
All the conventional wisdom about how good a team should be with a rookie QB just went out the window with the Denver Broncos. It really seemed like from day one that the Broncos had something special with Bo Nix. The sixth QB taken in the 2024 NFL Draft, Nix was seen by many as a player who belonged in the second or third round. They likened his game to someone like Derek Carr and didn't really think he did anything all that special.
Well, whatever process Sean Payton and George Paton had clearly worked. The Broncos now go into the playoffs with house money and absolutely nothing to lose. On the other sideline, the Buffalo Bills seem to have a lot to lose, right? I mean, this is the best Buffalo team in the Josh Allen era. Allen himself might win the MVP award, and it feels like they are so close to finally making the Super Bowl.
What does that say about the Bills and Broncos if Denver goes in and wins this game? They can play care-free, stress-free football. A loss by Buffalo forces them to face some tough questions about the starting QB and even the head coach and if that duo is right for the job. If the Broncos win, it's like 'oh well, they still exceeded expectations and are set up well for the future.'
The Denver Broncos are a scary football team in this regard. I am not sure Denver doesn't at least keep this game very close.