The Denver Broncos have now won six of their last seven games after coming away with a dominating road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14. With a 7-6 record heading into the final four weeks of the season, the Denver Broncos have come all the way back from being 1-5 and looking at the #1 overall pick in 2024 to now being one game back in the AFC West and in the thick of the AFC Wild Card race.
Although I think fans perceive the Broncos to just be on the cusp of getting into the playoffs, that's really not the case. Depending on what else happens over the next four weeks, they could get as high as the third seed in the AFC. Now, does that feel overly likely at this point? Not really, but all three Wild Card spots (5th-7th seeds) are within reach if the Broncos keep taking care of business.
But that's the primary objective at this point: Control what you can control. Win games. The Broncos have four games left, including two on the road and two at home. Whether or not they make the playoffs in 2023-24 is much more likely to be determined by whether or not they win those games as opposed to getting a bunch of help from other teams.
Let's take a stab at predicting the outcome of each of this team's final four games this season.
Week 15: Denver Broncos @ Detroit Lions
Saturday, December 16, 6:15 PM MT
The Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions were "flexed" into the Saturday night slot with the NFL having a trio of games on Saturday in Week 15. This is considered the prime time matchup out of the three games that will be played on Saturday.
And the Detroit Lions are struggling a little bit.
Dan Campbell has had this team playing great football for the majority of the season, and Detroit has nine wins already this season after winning nine games all of last season. They are in the driver's seat of the NFC North as of right now but things could get sticky this weekend if the Denver Broncos are able to come to town and get a win.
The Lions have lost two of their last three games, both divisional matchups against the Bears and Packers. Detroit has nearly made a clean sweep of the AFC West this season with wins over the Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers already in the books. They obviously want to make the Broncos their final AFC victim of the season and complete that clean sweep, but this is a struggling Detroit defense and I think the Broncos' defense can make life tough for Jared Goff.
Goff has 10 interceptions this season, five of which have come in the last month. He also had three fumbles on Thanksgiving against the Packers. The Broncos are going to need to be more efficient offensively, but I think this is a game they can win.
Prediction: Broncos win 27-22