Will the Denver Broncos exceed their projected win total for the 2023 season?

The Denver Broncos' projected win total for the 2023 NFL season in all honestly, is probably right where it should be, but will the team in fact surpass that total in the coming season? The oddsmakers are pegging the Denver Broncos' win total for the 2023 season at 8.5 wins.

This article is not betting advice or anything related, but merely a topic to be discussed. How does Broncos Country feel about the team being projected at 8.5 wins in 2023? Is that a fair number? Should it be higher, lower?

Well, there are surely a lot of factors that go into these projections, and I bet if the league and NFL landscape wasn't so low on Russell Wilson, we'd see this win total a bit higher. IF the Broncos were to win eight games in the 2023 season, they could kiss the playoffs goodbye.

It's possible for teams to make the playoffs with losing records, but I don't think that'll happen in the AFC in 2023. There are too many good teams for me to envision a playoff team with eight wins. It simply won't happen. Eight games would be a huge improvement over 2022, though.

However, it would kind of feel like a letdown based on everything Denver has done this offseason thus far. Them winning nine games likely just barely gets them into the playoffs as one of the last teams or just barely keeps them out, perhaps the eighth or ninth seed.

Finishing the season with a winning record for the first time since 2016 would be a lovely sight. Many would stop talking about how bad the Broncos have been, and I bet the buzz around Russell Wilson finally fizzles out a bit. Nine wins is still shaky for me.

If the team wants to truly make a strong case to get into the playoffs, winning 10 games is likely the minimum. I'd have a hard time envisioning the team missing the playoffs with 10 wins. They'd probably finish second in the AFC West and would likely need a tiebreaker or two to go their way.

I personally think Denver does win 10 games in 2023. I think a quick turnaround is very possible. Besides the games where Denver is evenly matched, I see clear wins against the Las Vegas Raiders twice, Washington Commanders, Chicago Bears, once against the Chiefs and Chargers, Houston Texans, and New England Patriots.

Right there are eight wins that I can confidently believe in. Some of their back-and-forth games are a bit shaky, but with strong coaching, Denver can win them. I do think the team surpasses their 8.5 projected wins. That feels a bit low to me.