All of a sudden, the Denver Broncos have a solid argument for being the most well-rounded team currently contending for a Wild Card spot in the AFC. Guys, the Broncos can do this. They can seriously do this. Sure, the team is buried in the AFC playoff standings, but after an ugly Thursday Night Football game, the Broncos might be in great shape.
And when you consider that other AFC Wild Card contenders have huge questions, the Broncos might be in good shape. Over the next two weeks, the Broncos face the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns, two games they play at home and will face off against backup QBs.
The team also gets to face other QBs like rookie QB CJ Stroud, Justin Herbert, who the team beats once a year, Mac Jones, and Aidan O'Connell. Besides the Broncos' schedule not being totally hard the rest of the way, the other teams they are competing with in the AFC have huge question marks.
Let's break this down some more.
Denver Broncos: Team might be most well-rounded Wild Card contender in AFC
Let's break down each team currently in a Wild Card spot in in the AFC and other Wild Card contenders.
5th Seed, Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) - Subpar QB in Kenny Pickett and an inept scoring offense. Steelers are getting outgained every game and seem to be getting lucky breaks each week. Is Kenny Pickett someone you can trust? I don't think so.
6th Seed, Cleveland Browns (6-3) - Team will now be without Deshaun Watson for the entire season, and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will now take over. He's been a disaster in his limited action in 2023. Can the Browns make a postseason push with a backup, rookie QB? Again, this is a huge question, and I don't think so.
7th Seed, Houston Texans (5-4) - Cinderella story in 2023, and people seem to be gravitating towards them. However, can a rookie QB and rookie head coach keep this up? The roster doesn't have a ton of playoff experience and they could be just a year too early for the postseason.