The Denver Broncos are (almost) all hands on deck for their final push to the NFL playoffs here in mid-December. It's great to see the team back in playoff contention after years of drought, and for their matchup against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15, they will have almost the entire 53-man roster good to go for the most critical time of year.
The lone Bronco who is slated to miss Week 15 against the Colts is second-year cornerback Riley Moss, whose knee injury against the Las Vegas Raiders back in Week 12 will have now cost him 2.5 games overall. Moss was on the side field working at practice this past week, so perhaps the Broncos are gearing up to have him ready for the short week against the Los Angeles Chargers.
One way or another, the Broncos will have safety Brandon Jones back on the field after Jones left with a groin/abdomen injury against the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football a couple of weeks ago. Jones has been such a crucial addition and even upgrade to the back end of Denver's defense this season, a fantastic and welcomed surprise considering the team's decision to cut veteran safety Justin Simmons this past offseason.
Broncos final injury report for Week 15: Brandon Jones good to go
Friday's #INDvsDEN injury report:
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 13, 2024
📰 » https://t.co/mJa2rwNmdB pic.twitter.com/y2DmjU8QMP
It sounds like we're more likely to see Kris Abrams-Draine or Damarri Mathis in place of the injured Riley Moss this week after Levi Wallace's dreadful performance against the Cleveland Browns. Perhaps it worked more to Cleveland's advantage that they really wanted to feature Jerry Jeudy on Monday night as opposed to trying to spread the ball around to a ton of different guys, but the Colts would be able to exploit that weakness just the same if the Broncos don't make corrections.
The team benched Wallace late in the game and threw the rookie Kris Abrams-Draine into the mix with the Browns down by just two points.
Regardless of what we see the Broncos do in terms of the personnel they choose to put on the field on Sunday against the Colts, it's pretty unheard of to see a roster this healthy this deep into the season. The Broncos have just four players on injured reserve (Alex Singleton, Quinn Bailey, Tyler Badie, Delarrin Turner-Yell) and out of those players, only Singleton and Badie suffered their injuries during the 2024 season.
And Badie could probably be activated if the Broncos needed him at this point...
To have the 53-man roster this strong this deep into the season is a major advantage for the Broncos. Now, these guys just need to go out there and make plays. The Broncos have a chance to achieve their first winning season since 2016 on Sunday.