Denver Broncos can make the Super Bowl this year, and this is how

The Denver Broncos can make the Super Bowl this year, and this is how
3. Russell Wilson having a QB rating of at least 97.4

This one probably seems silly at first, but let me elaborate. In each Super Bowl since 2013, besides 2015, the starting QB for the Super Bowl winner had a passer rating of at least 97.4 in the regular season, and there were seven instances of the QB having a passer rating above 100 in the regular season.

The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, so this should come as no surprise. Russell Wilson will need to have a passer rating in the upper 90s if the Denver Broncos want to have a chance at winning the Super Bowl in 2023. Fortunately, both Russell Wilson and Sean Payton have a string of success that fits this criteria.

In Wilson's seven of 11 seasons in the NFL, he's had a passer rating of at least 100. He's one of the most efficient quarterbacks in NFL history even though his 2022 season was so brutal. I mean, the proof is right there. Let's take away the recency bias for a second and look objectively.

Sean Payton also has similar success with Drew Brees. With the two together in New Orleans, they had nine instances where Brees had a passer rating of at least 100. They played together from 2006-2020, so that's nine of 15 seasons. If we put it all together, Russell Wilson and Sean Payton have met this criterion in 16 of 26 combined seasons, which comes out to a 61.5% chance that the two will conjure up an offense with a high enough passer rating to meet this third criterion.

Well, there are certainly more trends that I am sure we can dig up that are present in the recent Super Bowl champions, but I think Denver can appear in the big game in 2023 if they satisfy these three.