The Denver Broncos didn't play on Thanksgiving, but their playoff chances still improved thanks to the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers had a primetime matchup on Thanksgiving against the Miami Dolphins, who were riding a three-game winning streak coming into Thursday. Unfortunately, they left the comforts of South Florida for the snowy tundra that is Lambeau Field. And as we've seen in the past, that's like Superman and Kryptonite.
The Dolphins got absolutely smoked by the Packers on Thursday night. Or maybe since it was Thanksgiving it would be more appropriate to say they got "roasted".
Packers give Broncos playoff help with win over Dolphins
The Broncos are currently the 7th seed in the AFC playoff race, although they have a chance to go to bed Monday night as the 6th seed if all goes well this weekend. The biggest contenders for that 7th spot right now are the Indianapolis Colts (5-7), Cincinnati Bengals (4-7), and Miami Dolphins (5-7).
Needless to say, the 7-5 Broncos have a little bit of cushion and margin for error built in right now, but they obviously have to keep winning games. The Broncos have a bye week in Week 14. The last thing they need going into that bye week is a loss against the 3-8 Cleveland Browns on Monday night in their own stadium. This young Denver Broncos team is going to have to prove its playoff mettle and avoid faltering like they did last year.
Although the Browns are not a quality opponent in terms of their record right now, they are absolutely a quality opponent in a variety of other ways. The Browns have arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. They have a very talented secondary. Jameis Winston and Jerry Jeudy have been playing some good football.
The Broncos would be foolish to overlook the Browns and they don't have that luxury even with the built-in cushion of the Dolphins losing this week already.
While the Packers helped the Broncos this week, Denver will be looking at a number of other matchups on the Week 13 slate. The Los Angeles Chargers could end the weekend with a record of 7-5 if they lose on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. The Baltimore Ravens have a road trip to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles and could be 8-5 after that game.
Again, the best case scenario for the Broncos right now is that both of those teams would lose and Denver would win against Cleveland, making them the 6th seed in the AFC over the Chargers and tied with the same record as the Ravens going into their Week 14 bye.
They need to take care of business, but everything around them is lining up perfectly so far.