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iknowftbll
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It's been a while since I've predicted a complete schedule. Maybe the post-Manning years just took the fun away. Despite the O/U for this team being at 5.5 wins I am actually more excited about this season than I have been in a long time. I can partially understand the "experts" being down on this team. National media does the bare minimum when it comes to analyzing teams that aren't among their favorites. Even when the Broncos are good they tend to be overlooked, so a team that posted an 7-season high of 8 wins last year is definitely not going to get more attention then, "oh, starting QB left? Bottom feeder!"
And to be fair, even I have expressed doubt about the defense. Even if we remove the "feast or famine" outliers of last year's unit, from the 70 point performance to the incredible run of generating turnovers every week, it's hard to predict where this unit will land. And I don't have a lot of confidence in Vance Joseph. But I also think our run defense should be improved. And I've seen some reports to suggest we'll have a functional pass rush. Our secondary should be good. So maybe the unit as a whole will at least not be a huge liability.
On offense it is hard to imagine being worse. That is always possible as a rookie adjusts to the league (can't really use pre-season as a gauge). But I am sure Bo Nix can at least improve the infuriating rate of 3 and out. The Broncos were also 19th in scoring, showing a slightly below average relative to the rest of the league last year. Can Nix swing that to slightly above average? I think his style of play can because he's an all around better fit for the offense.
So let's get to my predictions:
Week 1, Broncos @ Seahawks: Win, 20-17. I already picked this score on another thread. 1-0.
Week 2, Broncos vs Steelers: Win, 23-7. RW shows the Broncos why they're paying him $80 million to not wear a Broncos uniform. 2-0.
Week 3, Broncos @ Buccaneers: Loss, 17-27. The Bucs are a hard team to figure out but early games in the EST are usually a dud for the Broncos. 2-1.
Week 4, Broncos @ Jets: Win, 23-20. The Broncos stay on the East Coast and it helps them adjust to another early East Coast game. 3-1.
Week 5, Broncos vs Raiders. Win, 29-10. A return home and what appears to be a breakout game creates a buzz. 4-1.
Week 6, Broncos vs Chargers. Win, 26-16. Chargers could go in any direction this year, but far less competent Broncos rosters have done well against far better Chargers rosters. Harbaugh should make this team competitive again, but he's got his work cut out for him in 2024. 5-1.
Week 7, Broncos @ Saints (TNF). Loss, 13-23. A short week and travel combine for another dud. 5-2.
Week 8, Broncos vs Panthers. Win, 31-3. A breath of fresh air. And they're going to need it... 6-2.
Week 9, Broncos @ Ravens. Loss, 17-34. A late TD makes the blowout loss look less "blowouty" but it's still an ugly one. 6-3.
Week 10, Broncos @ Chiefs. Loss, 21-27. Reality and maybe some fatigue is setting in. It's a lot season. 6-4.
Week 11, Broncos vs Falcons. Win, 24-21. The team is definitely showing signs of fatigue at this point but they gut out narrow win. 7-4.
Week 12, Broncos @ Raiders. Loss, 17-27. Raiders assemble just enough competent football to take advantage of an exhausted Broncos team. 7-5.
Week 13, Broncos vs Browns (MNF). Win, 31-23. An extra day of rest and a primetime showcase helps the Broncos get up for this one. 8-5.
Week 14, Bye. (Seriously, week 14...)
Week 15, Broncos vs Colts. Win, 31-20. A rested team comes off a much needed bye and the Broncos win another decisive one. They also secure their first winning season since 2016. 9-5.
Week 16, Broncos @ Chargers. Loss 24-26. In an oddly specific prediction the Chargers win this one on a late FG, set up by an overly generous Defensive PI call. Sean Payton and the crew all say all the right things, "That call didn't cost us the game." And they'll be right. But it did. 9-6.
Week 17, Broncos @ Bengals. Loss, 17-23. It's a tough swing, to play in PST one week and EST the next. Assuming Joe Burrows is healthy, the Bengals post a late season win and the Broncos are on the playoff bubble. 9-7.
Week 18, Broncos vs Chiefs. Win, 31-24. No, the Chiefs don't rest their starters, the Broncos just outplay them, punching their first playoff ticket since 2015. 10-7.
So there it is. 10 wins and 7 losses should be good enough for #7 or maybe even #6 in the playoffs. I think I am being optimistic with these but at this time of year that's ok. A much improved offense tallies up 395 points for an average of 23.2 PPG, a solid improvement over last year's 21 PPG. The defense allows a total of 348 points on the season for 20.5 PPG. This would be a massive improvement over last year's 24.3 PPG. An improvement of this caliber isn't entirely out of the realm of possible considering the once-in-a-generation 70 point performance against the Dolphins last year really skewing the stats.
So definitely optimistic. I've said ever since the draft I've felt this team could improve on last year's 8 wins. I've predicted them to an 8 or 9 win team multiple times, so doing a game by game breakdown teases out one more win in my prediction.
A 10-7 finish and playoff game would be huge for this young team and the entire franchise. Let's hear your thoughts.
And to be fair, even I have expressed doubt about the defense. Even if we remove the "feast or famine" outliers of last year's unit, from the 70 point performance to the incredible run of generating turnovers every week, it's hard to predict where this unit will land. And I don't have a lot of confidence in Vance Joseph. But I also think our run defense should be improved. And I've seen some reports to suggest we'll have a functional pass rush. Our secondary should be good. So maybe the unit as a whole will at least not be a huge liability.
On offense it is hard to imagine being worse. That is always possible as a rookie adjusts to the league (can't really use pre-season as a gauge). But I am sure Bo Nix can at least improve the infuriating rate of 3 and out. The Broncos were also 19th in scoring, showing a slightly below average relative to the rest of the league last year. Can Nix swing that to slightly above average? I think his style of play can because he's an all around better fit for the offense.
So let's get to my predictions:
Week 1, Broncos @ Seahawks: Win, 20-17. I already picked this score on another thread. 1-0.
Week 2, Broncos vs Steelers: Win, 23-7. RW shows the Broncos why they're paying him $80 million to not wear a Broncos uniform. 2-0.
Week 3, Broncos @ Buccaneers: Loss, 17-27. The Bucs are a hard team to figure out but early games in the EST are usually a dud for the Broncos. 2-1.
Week 4, Broncos @ Jets: Win, 23-20. The Broncos stay on the East Coast and it helps them adjust to another early East Coast game. 3-1.
Week 5, Broncos vs Raiders. Win, 29-10. A return home and what appears to be a breakout game creates a buzz. 4-1.
Week 6, Broncos vs Chargers. Win, 26-16. Chargers could go in any direction this year, but far less competent Broncos rosters have done well against far better Chargers rosters. Harbaugh should make this team competitive again, but he's got his work cut out for him in 2024. 5-1.
Week 7, Broncos @ Saints (TNF). Loss, 13-23. A short week and travel combine for another dud. 5-2.
Week 8, Broncos vs Panthers. Win, 31-3. A breath of fresh air. And they're going to need it... 6-2.
Week 9, Broncos @ Ravens. Loss, 17-34. A late TD makes the blowout loss look less "blowouty" but it's still an ugly one. 6-3.
Week 10, Broncos @ Chiefs. Loss, 21-27. Reality and maybe some fatigue is setting in. It's a lot season. 6-4.
Week 11, Broncos vs Falcons. Win, 24-21. The team is definitely showing signs of fatigue at this point but they gut out narrow win. 7-4.
Week 12, Broncos @ Raiders. Loss, 17-27. Raiders assemble just enough competent football to take advantage of an exhausted Broncos team. 7-5.
Week 13, Broncos vs Browns (MNF). Win, 31-23. An extra day of rest and a primetime showcase helps the Broncos get up for this one. 8-5.
Week 14, Bye. (Seriously, week 14...)
Week 15, Broncos vs Colts. Win, 31-20. A rested team comes off a much needed bye and the Broncos win another decisive one. They also secure their first winning season since 2016. 9-5.
Week 16, Broncos @ Chargers. Loss 24-26. In an oddly specific prediction the Chargers win this one on a late FG, set up by an overly generous Defensive PI call. Sean Payton and the crew all say all the right things, "That call didn't cost us the game." And they'll be right. But it did. 9-6.
Week 17, Broncos @ Bengals. Loss, 17-23. It's a tough swing, to play in PST one week and EST the next. Assuming Joe Burrows is healthy, the Bengals post a late season win and the Broncos are on the playoff bubble. 9-7.
Week 18, Broncos vs Chiefs. Win, 31-24. No, the Chiefs don't rest their starters, the Broncos just outplay them, punching their first playoff ticket since 2015. 10-7.
So there it is. 10 wins and 7 losses should be good enough for #7 or maybe even #6 in the playoffs. I think I am being optimistic with these but at this time of year that's ok. A much improved offense tallies up 395 points for an average of 23.2 PPG, a solid improvement over last year's 21 PPG. The defense allows a total of 348 points on the season for 20.5 PPG. This would be a massive improvement over last year's 24.3 PPG. An improvement of this caliber isn't entirely out of the realm of possible considering the once-in-a-generation 70 point performance against the Dolphins last year really skewing the stats.
So definitely optimistic. I've said ever since the draft I've felt this team could improve on last year's 8 wins. I've predicted them to an 8 or 9 win team multiple times, so doing a game by game breakdown teases out one more win in my prediction.
A 10-7 finish and playoff game would be huge for this young team and the entire franchise. Let's hear your thoughts.
