The Denver Broncos have shockingly evened out their record through four games and will play three of their next four at home. Folks, the Broncos are a good football team. They started the 2024 Season 0-2, and early returns were not great, but two-straight away wins against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets all of a sudden has this team at 2-2.
These two wins were nothing short of impressive, as Denver's defense allowed just one touchdown and 16 points. Through four games, the Broncos' defense ranks third in the NFL in points allowed, and while the offense is performing how you'd expect with a rookie QB under center, they have done enough through two games.
Denver will now play three of their next four games at home. In Week 5, they get the Las Vegas Raiders. In Week 6, they get the Los Angeles Chargers. In Week 7, they play the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football in New Orleans, and in Week 8, they return home against the Carolina Panthers.
All of the Raiders, Chargers, and Saints are 2-2, and the Panthers are 1-3. The combined record of the team's next four opponents is 7-9, so they're not exactly playing anyone special, and their likely QB matchups will be Gardner Minshew, Justin Herbert, Derek Carr, and Andy Dalton. Herbert is the best from this bunch but has not yet thrown for 200 yards in a game this year.
Seeing what the Broncos have done over the last two games and how good their defense is, am I being too optimistic to suggest that Denver can win three of their next four? If you look at their remaining schedule after these next four, it's brutal. This stretch is by far their easiest of the season, and it's actually kind of funny how at this time last year is just about when Denver turned things around.
The Broncos are really being gifted these next four games, all of which are winnable. It'd be a disappointment if they went 2-2 over the next four, and if this team hopes to sniff a Wild Card spot in 2024, which may sound ridiculous now, they must win at least three.
That would get them to a solid 5-3 record at the halfway-ish point of the 2024 NFL Season. If the Broncos did get to 5-3, they'd be two games up on where they were through eight games last year. Are we sleeping on the Denver Broncos? Maybe, but their next four games will truly indicate where this team goes in 2024.