The Denver Broncos are doing what they can to salvage what looked like a lost season. After starting 1-5, they won their last two games heading into the Week 9 bye to push their record to 3-5.
While making the playoffs is still a long shot, Denver has at least given itself a chance to make a run in the second half of the season. Monday night football against the Buffalo Bills is their chance in Week 10 to really climb back into the face, as a victory over them would be huge for team morale.
Were the Broncos able to do enough during the bye week to figure out a game plan to corral what can be a very explosive Bills offense? If not, another ugly performance could be on the horizon, much like what happened in Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins.
The dismantling in South Beach is what Jeff Legwold of ESPN highlighted as the one statistic that defines the Broncos’ first half of the 2023 season. A 70-20 loss was certainly jarring to Sean Payton and his staff.
“Take your pick — 70 points, 10 touchdowns, 726 yards of offense and 350 rushing yards allowed in the loss to Miami. It was just the third time in the league’s history a team had surrendered 70 points, and it was the second-highest yardage total in NFL history. That was the rudest of awakenings for coach Sean Payton and his staff,” Legwold wrote.
That historic loss could have certainly been enough for the Broncos to close up shop and turn their attention to the future. They did that in some regards, moving on from a few veterans who were on the roster to open up playing time for younger guys.
Denver did respond with a victory on the road against the Chicago Bears in Week 4, so they showed some heart after the blowout. Another two-game skid was close to putting the dagger in their season, but the two-game winning streak has given them some hope.
The Broncos defense has started to play much better in recent weeks, giving up only 45 points in two games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers. If they can continue playing at that level, more victories should be coming their way in the second half of the season.
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