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
Week 16: New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
Sunday, December 24, 6:15 PM MT
If the Denver Broncos can get to 8-6 going into this Christmas Eve matchup against the New England Patriots, they will have set themselves up exceptionally well. After the Broncos play the 7th-ranked Detroit Lions offense, they go up against three teams that have really been struggling on that side of the ball lately, starting with the Pats in Week 16.
These are not your older brother's New England Patriots. These are the Baile Zappe-led New England Patriots.
The one constant that remains for New England at this point is a team that consistently plays strong defense. Although the Patriots are currently 3-10, they have a top five defense in the entire NFL right now in terms of overall points per drive allowed.
With the Broncos returning home for this game against New England, coming off of a long road trip, I think the fan base is going to be absolutely sizzling with anticipation. On paper, even with as good as the Pats' defense has been at times this season, this is a game the Denver Broncos should win.
I expect Sean Payton to have his guys ready to go up against a well-coached Patriots defense looking to play spoiler.
Prediction: Broncos win 24-13
Week 17: Los Angeles Chargers @ Denver Broncos
Sunday, December 31, 2:25 PM ET
The Denver Broncos are fresh off of a dominating win against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14, a game which has really revved up the playoff engines again for this team. The Broncos also knocked Justin Herbert out of the game in the process, and while we obviously hope Herbert is okay, it sounds like there's a chance he could end up going on injured reserve with a fractured finger on his throwing hand.
At best, his status for the remainder of this season is a question mark, which means the Denver Broncos could be looking at a matchup against Easton Stick here in Week 17.
Obviously, you can't underestimate the backup QB potentially going on a little bit of a run, but I think things will continue to get worse for the Chargers before they get better. Once again, as we're looking at everything on paper, you get a matchup at home here in Week 17 against a Chargers team -- already struggling offensively -- starting its backup quarterback?
This is a game you would expect to win, and it would be a big one even though the Chargers are not really in the playoff race right now. Wins against the Patriots and Chargers in Weeks 16 and 17 would give the Denver Broncos a 6-5 AFC record in 2023, which would be a substantial advantage going into the final week of the season.
Can the Broncos get the job done against another backup QB?
Prediction: Broncos win 28-13
Week 18: Denver Broncos @ Las Vegas Raiders
The Denver Broncos close their season against the Las Vegas Raiders on the road, and they have had some serious struggles against the Raiders in recent years.
Although the Broncos' losing streak to the Chiefs was worse and way more publicized, Denver has only beaten the Raiders one time since 2018, and they've lost seven consecutive games to them. The most recent was the season-opening loss this year, a really disappointing game in hindsight.
The Broncos have been streak enders under Sean Payton this year. They ended an eight-plus year losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs. They ended a road losing streak against the Buffalo Bills that extended back to 2007. They won their first game at SoFi Stadium against the Chargers.
Can another streak end in Week 18? Can the Denver Broncos go to Las Vegas and beat Aidan O'Connell and the Raiders? I think they can.
On paper, the Broncos seem to have a real shot at winning their final four games of the season, even if you consider their game against the Detroit Lions in Week 15 to be a bit of a toss-up. It looks like the Broncos have a great shot at finishing the season with 10 or 11 wins, which seemed like an impossible dream after the first six weeks of the season. But I think they're going into the playoffs hot and I think they cap off the regular season with a win against the Raiders, ending yet another streak.
Prediction: Broncos win 31-16