The Denver Broncos enter one of the most crucial months of their team's history, and could be in line to make a playoff push soon. You can't help but be optimistic about the Denver Broncos over the next four games. After impressively splitting their first four contests, three of which were on the road, Denver returns home for three of their next four.
And their next four games come against the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, and Carolina Panthers. teams who are either a weak 2-2 or 1-3. Denver will play their lone away game in New Orleans on Thursday Night Football in Week 7.
Well, head coach Sean Payton has a stellar record of 47-16 in October in his head coaching career. He entered his Broncos' tenure having a 44-14 October record and went 3-2 in the 2023 NFL Season with the Broncos in October.
He wins 74.6% of his October games, which is the highest rate in the history of the NFL. This would put Denver on pace to win three of their four games in October, which would bring their record to 5-3 through eight games.
Broncos Country social media regular Frankie Abbott made an excellent point on Saturday about the Broncos and their playoff chances in 2024:
Denver needs to seize the moment and make a playoff run this season. Should be able to escape October with a solid record and a lot of the usual suspects in the AFC that were expected to be playoff teams are faltering. (Miami, Cincinnati, LAC, Browns, Jags, Colts)
— Frankie Abbott (@FrankiesFilm) October 5, 2024
The last part of his tweet is the big deal here, as the AFC was largely seen as a loaded conference, but teams like the Dolphins, Bengals, Chargers, Browns, Jaguars, and Colts are not performing up to the expectations that some had set before the year, as Abbott notes.
This does open up the door for the Denver Broncos to fly under the radar a bit and take advantage of their next four games, which come against opponents with a combined 7-9 record before Week 5 begins. The team's next four games are clearly on the easier side compared to the rest of their schedule, and this could prompt them to even add a player or two at the 2024 NFL Trade Deadline.
I have said for months on this website that the Broncos' ceiling in 2024 is what the Houston Texans did in 2023, going 10-7 and making the playoffs. I understand that Denver is not going to win the AFC West, but the Texans in 2023 and Broncos in 2024 share a lot of similarities in my opinion, and this could be where Denver's breaks it open a bit.
Winning three of the next four would be marvelously ideal, but obviously winning all four would be perfect. It's not crazy to think that Denver is 5-3 entering November, which would set the stage for a very interesting finish to the 2024 NFL Season.
Can the Denver Broncos sneak into the playoffs?