In perhaps the most important game of the season for the Broncos, the team travels to Buffalo to face the Bills, a team currently facing an identity crisis. In a recent article, I detailed why the Bills losing in Week 9 may actually be bad news for the Broncos. Buffalo tends to rebound in a big way following a loss, like clockwork.
My main fear is that Buffalo views Denver as a "get right game" and embarrasses the Broncos in primetime. Well, I do think Denver can win this game. They match up well against Buffalo and the Bills' defense is without multiple key starters. Can the Denver Broncos win three games in a row and beat the Bills in Week 10? Let's talk about why.
3 reasons why Denver Broncos can beat Buffalo Bills in Week 10
Sean Payton is stellar after the bye week
Jon Heath, who writes for the Broncos Wire over at USA Today, outlined just how good Payton has been after bye weeks:
"After starting his time with the Saints 0-3 after byes, Payton went on to go 10-3 in his next 13 post-bye games in New Orleans. Implementing what he learned from Reid must have paid off, and Payton will look to put it to use in Denver. After their bye, the Broncos will go on the road to face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 10."Jon Heath
Sean Payton apparently asked Andy Reid what he did during the bye week earlier in his head coaching career, as Reid is notorious for having his squads ready to go after the break. Well, Payton has implemented something similar, and additionally, the Broncos also have extra time to get healthy, which is huge.
Buffalo is coming off of a poor performance on Sunday Night Football. Not only was this game... at night, but they were also playing in Cincinnati, so they are that much more behind during prep this week opposed to them playing a 1 PM game at their home stadium.
Right now, the advantage in this department clearly goes to the Denver Broncos. Payton is a much, much better coach than Sean McDermott, and I trust that Payton will have his team ready to go during primetime.
The Buffalo Bills... aren't that good
The Buffalo Bills look like an elite team occasionally because of Josh Allen. Josh Allen is a very interesting QB. He leads the league in interceptions since entering the NFL but also leads the league in total touchdowns during that time. When he's at his best, there isn't anyone better than him. However, when he's bad, he's really bad.
Between the Bills being 5-4 and enduring a slew of injuries, this team just isn't good. I'd argue the Broncos aren't good, either, but Denver is coming off of two straight wins and surely has some momentum there. The Bills are 2-3 in their last five games. They've lost to Zach Wilson and the New York Jets and Mac Jones and the New England Patriots.
Another issue with Buffalo; what exactly do they do well? What is one thing that they can hang their hat on and say "Yep, this is who we are." To me, there isn't a clear thing that they consistently do better than their opponents. Josh Allen leads the league in interceptions, and their pass game is up and down. The run game isn't anything notable.
And yes, they have lost three defensive starters for the season, so that unit isn't playing as well as it normally does, but even on defense, what do they do well? I'd even argue that the Denver Broncos can hang their hat on an above-average offensive line and a very good special teams unit. To me, the Buffalo Bills simply aren't that good.
Doesn't this Denver Broncos team feel different?
This Denver Broncos squad is still 3-5, yes, but don't they feel a bit different? This team was down by 21 points in Chicago to the Bears and clawed their way back for a three-point victory. This team was a bogus non-call on Courtland Sutton from potentially sending their Week 2 game against the Washington Commanders to overtime.
The team's defense has also turned a huge corner in the last month, allowing just four offensive touchdowns over the last four games, and two of those games were against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver has won two in a row and three of five to keep their season alive.
Maybe I'm overreacting here, but this team feels like they may have hit their stride or are close to it. I think this bye week was perfectly timed; finally beating the Chiefs after eight years was a nice feeling, and then heading into the break had to have been a nice bonus. They're as healthy as they can be during the season and have had two weeks to prepare for this next game.
I don't know man, maybe I'm on the wrong track here, but I do think this team feels different.