The Denver Broncos embarrassed the Raiders in Week 5, and don't look now, but the team is in a playoff spot. At this point in the 2023 NFL Season, the Denver Broncos were 1-4 and would drop to 1-5. It was ugly, simply put. The team was getting blown out and the defense had allowed 70 points to the Miami Dolphins.
Well, about one calendar year later, the entire course of the franchise has changed for the better. The team began their second-quarter of the 2024 NFL Season with a huge opportunity in front of them. In Week 5, they quickly fell into a 10-point hole against the Las Vegas Raiders, and it truly felt like it was going to be one of those games,
But a Patrick Surtain II pick-6 really opened this thing up. The Broncos ended up scoring 34 unanswered points and at one point held a 24-point lead over the Raiders, who ended up benching Gardner Minshew.
The Broncos closed it out, winning by 16 point and getting their most complete performance of the 2024 NFL Season. With that win, they earn their third win a row and get to 3-2 on the season after starting 0-2. Well, not only do the Denver Broncos have their best start since starting 3-2 back in 2021, but they are actually in a playoff spot through five weeks.
Sure, Denver still has 12 games to go, but they currently hold the 5th-seed in the AFC playoff picture. In that event, if the 2024 NFL Regular Season ended today, they'd play the Buffalo Bills, who have lost two games in a row. Right now, the Broncos are one of six teams in the AFC to have a winning record.
For all of the people that totally wrote off the Denver Broncos, they seem to be in the wrong through five games. Over the next two games, the Broncos will host the LA Chargers and will then travel to New Orleans to face the Saints. In Week 8, they'll host the Carolina Panthers.
Now that Denver has won their Week 5 game, they get a bit of a head start and a one-game cushion. If Bo Nix and the offense can continue this up, the Broncos could be in business, and I may add that this is now two of the last three games that the Broncos have scored at least 26 points, so perhaps the unit is building something here...