As the Denver Broncos keep stacking wins, many people who are and continue to be low on the team are proven wrong with each passing week. Denver hasn't won pretty at times this year, but blowing teams out consistently is not sustainable in this league.
The way Denver has won this year - largely by close margins, is sustainable and a sign of excellent coaching. Now sitting at 11-2, Denver has already surpassed their win total from 2024, as they were 8-5 at this point last year.
The Broncos shocked the NFL world in 2024 by making the playoffs with a rookie QB, and after a brutal 0-2 start. Back during the Super Bowl festivities in February, NFL analyst Peter Schrager spoke about the Broncos, and while Schrager has historically been high on this team, his particular response here truly aged like milk.
Peter Schrager whiffed on the AFC West when asked back in February
Schrager was off the mark big-time here, saying that there was a 'huge gap' between the Broncos and the Chiefs and also saying that it was likely multiple years before Denver truly began competing for the division with Kansas City;
Last February, @PSchrags said there was a “huge gap” between Sean Payton’s Broncos & the Chiefs in the AFC West. He thought Denver was “probably two years away, but Sean’s got them going in the right direction."
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) December 8, 2025
The Broncos surpassed KC in 10 months.
pic.twitter.com/zkybjvGkRG pic.twitter.com/ccPGWvzCVX
It's actually not all that surprising, when you think about it, that the Broncos have surpassed the Chiefs this quickly. Back in 2024, KC was winning games by ultra-slim margins and quite literally went 11-0 in one-score games.
The one reason why the Chiefs winning like that wasn't sustainable was because the personnel was and continues to be below-average. The Chiefs just do not have many good players and aren't strong where it matters the most anymore.
Much of that has caught up to them here in 2025. Chiefs' GM Brett Veach has whiffed on various draft picks and has mismanaged cap space and invested into the wrong players. For the Broncos, they have done the total opposite, as they've invested into the right players and are strong where it matters the most in the NFL.
With the way things are trending, it could take multiple strong offseasons from the Chiefs to get back to the type of roster talent they used to have, and even just to match the Broncos with their own talent. Denver could have a multi-year run at this rate in the AFC West, as the Los Angeles Chargers are struggling with a similar issue.
It just goes to show you how quickly things can catch up with teams.