After losing heartbreakingly on Sunday afternoon, the Denver Broncos now face a tough climb to make the AFC playoffs. Denver had a perfect 2-0 start to both the season and conference play in their hands, but now looks likely to move to 1-2 with a very tough Week 3 road test coming up in Los Angeles.
Even with the recent news of Joe Burrow's injury and extended absence, Denver's road to the playoffs took a bit of a bump with an in-conference loss to a surprisingly strong 2-0 Colts team. Denver's next matchup in Los Angeles should serve as a good test for this team.
Denver's schedule faces some ups and downs as we enter the meat of the season, but opportunities for gains in the conference present themselves early and often for Sean Payton and his group. Their schedule could play in their favor if they execute what they need to.
Broncos cannot afford to lose any more winnable games, especially early on in the season
The Broncos don't have any "scheduled losses" on their schedule, but they face a tough stretch over the next few weeks. Following their trip to Los Angeles, the Broncos will host a Burrow-less Bengals team, and then head east to visit the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles. Arguably, the two toughest road games of the year come within two weeks of each other for the Broncos, who will need to win against the Bengals in the middle.
Assuming the Broncos are not able to beat the Chargers and Eagles on the road, but handle the Bengals at home, Denver will sit at 2-3 heading into a softer part of their schedule. Denver will play three in a row against the Jets, Giants, and Cowboys, the last two of which are at home following Denver's trip to London against the Jets.
The Broncos figure to be favored in all of those games and could use it as a way to propel themselves back into the thick of the AFC playoff hunt. It is far more important how a team ends than how they begin, especially when you look at the 2024 Broncos. Denver climbed to 9-5 last year after an 0-2 start, and used a softer part of their mid-season schedule to propel themselves to an AFC Wild Card spot, despite multiple losses to playoff teams along the way.
If Denver can duplicate their midseaon success from last year, which saw the team go 8-3 between weeks 3 and 15, the Broncos should be in solid standing to make the postseason for a second consecutive year.