Despite brutal Week 10 loss, Broncos are still in great shape in AFC playoffs

The Denver Broncos may have suffered the most brutal loss in the NFL in quite some time, but their playoff prospects are still looking solid. The one thing that did go their way in Week 10 was the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts losing. Both of those squads are now 4-6 on the season and behind the Broncos in the NFL playoff race.

The Broncos did fall to 5-5, but they have a one-game advantage over both clubs and still sit in the seventh seed in the playoff picture. If the postseason began today, the Broncos would travel to Buffalo to face the Bills, a team they did beat in Buffalo in 2023.

This did feel like the most devastating loss in the post-Super Bowl 50 era. And yes, the Broncos have dealt with some blowout losses since then, but everything that went into this game made this outcome the worst to stomach.

Week 10 loss still provides some positives going forward

I'm not sure a single soul thought that the Denver Broncos would be 5-5 through 10 games. Heck, man betting markets pegged the Broncos over/under win total this year at 5.5, and they're right on the cusp of eclipsing that total. It's been a very encouraging year for Bo Nix thus far.

The first two weeks were ugly, but those were the first two games of his NFL career. Since Week 3, Nix has thrown 10 touchdowns against just two interceptions. The improvement is obvious, and it's not crazy to say that Nix outplayed Patrick Mahomes in Arrowhead in Week 10.

Nix lead what would have been the game-winning scoring drive. He did what was asked of him. And it was yet another game where Nix didn't turn the ball over. I understand just how hard this loss is going to hurt for quite some time, but not only are the Denver Broncos still in the playoffs, but there were a lot of positives to take from this game.

The hope here is that the Broncos can use this heartbreaking loss to fuel them down the stretch. A 9-8 record probably makes the Wild Card's seventh seed in the AFC this year. The Bronocs have seven games left, so they'd have to go 4-3 the rest of the way.

In order, their remaining opponents look like this:


vs. Falcons
@ Raiders
vs. Browns
BYE
vs. Colts
@ Chargers
@ Bengals
vs. Chiefs

Could their four wins come against the Falcons, Raiders, Browns, and Colts? Certainly. Heck, could they win five of their remaining seven? It's not out of the question. Overall, while this loss is tough to swallow, the Broncos are still in good shape.