The Denver Broncos have made the playoffs two years in a row now and are in a position to get into the playoffs for a third-straight year based on their solid start and with the schedule softening up in the coming weeks.
There is work to do, but this team has averaged 12 wins over the last two seasons and do have a path to another double-digit win season this year. The offense does have reason to believe in future improvement, and the defense appears to be coming into their own.
Let's dive into the updated AFC Playoff Picture following Week 6.
Denver Broncos put in a tough spot in updated AFC Playoff Picture
1. Kansas City Chiefs, 5-0
As of now, the Kansas City Chiefs, the lone unbeaten team in the conference, would get the first-round bye and would own homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
2. Buffalo Bills, 5-1
Buffalo's great 5-1 start definitely masks the bad defense and the frequent penalties. This team could end up dropping a few shocking games as the season goes on.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars, 4-2
A team that the Broncos beat earlier this year, the Jacksonville Jaguars are one of many 4-2 teams across the league through six weeks.
4. Cleveland Browns, 4-2
Perhaps the shock of the year thus far, the Cleveland Browns are in first place in the AFC North and would have a home playoff game right now.
5. New England Patriots, 4-2
Winning 14 games last year and having played really well the past few weeks, the New England Patriots could get into a heated race with Buffalo for the AFC East title this year.
6. Denver Broncos, 4-2
The Broncos sit in the No. 6 seed in the conference right now and would be forced to go on the road in the Wild Card Round, at least.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers, 4-2
Currently sitting in the No. 7 seed in the AFC, the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers are again positioning themselves to barely squeak into the playoffs and likely go one-and-done.
Playoff Matchups entering Week 7
Bye: Chiefs
The Chiefs get the bye and would have the luxury of hosting the lowest remaining seed remaining in the Divisional Round.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills
Pittsburgh would visit Buffalo in what could end up being blowout loss. The Bills do typically have an easy time getting past the Wild Card Round in the Josh Allen era, and this game would be no different.
Denver Broncos @ Jacksonville Jaguars
The Broncos would visit the Jaguars as of now. Jacksonville beat Denver last year, but the Broncos got some revenge a few weeks ago, so this would likely end up being a pretty tight game.
New England Patriots @ Cleveland Browns
The Patriots would visit the Browns in what would surely be one of the wilder playoff environments, but New England is a better team and would likely be able to win this one.
The Broncos have work to do
The Broncos had it good last year - they earned homefield advantage and were well on their way to the Super Bowl before Bo Nix's tragic injury. It's certainly going to be a huge challenge for this team to even win the division this year, let alone earn the top seed, but it's possible.
Right now, Denver would have to likely go on the road for their entire playoff run. We have seen this team perform well away from home at times, but given how deep the AFC is, there'd be reason to believe that the team would struggle to advance beyond the Wild Card Round.
There is work to do.
Add us as a preferred source on Google