TheDenver Broncos2024 opponents havebeen finalized andweare going tobreak down how many wins and losses there will be come season's end.With the league going to the 17-game format, unfortunately, there will only be8games at home while 9will be playedon the road. Regardless, in a post-draft world now, I believe there are more wins here than what the sportsbooks might think.
Let's start with the away opponents.Now, the schedule hasn'tbeen releasedyetsowhile we might not knowwhatweek is which game, wedostill have enough informationat this timeto predict some possible outcomes.The NFL Draft has come and goneandmost of themajoroff-season moves have commenced. So even though each team's official 53-man rosters haven'tbeen submitted, we have a pretty good idea of who is playing where. Sowiththat said, let's begin.
Getting the obvious out of the way, the Broncos will face their division counterparts at eachof their stadiums. Time has told me that betting against Patrick Mahomes in Arrowhead doesn't always yieldyouthe best returns. The Chargers and Raiders are another pickle for the Broncos on their own. The Raiderscurrentlystill have Denver's number with8straight winsandthe Chargers just brought in a potential Hall of Fame-level Head Coach inJohn Harbaugh. That said, I do think one of these is a win. That's the Raiders in Vegas.I believe Denver is the overall better teamand will have superior quarterback play.The Chiefs andChargerswill be hard-fought losses.
Denver will also travel to Baltimore, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Seattle, and New Jersey to face the Jets. I think there is a split 50/50 here with wins coming against New Orleans, Seattle, and a surprise win over the Jets that willbe sure tomake some headlines. The Jets are going to be better this yearbuttheir entire season revolves around a 40-year-old quarterback coming off of an Achilles tear. Time will tell how that shakes out.
So let's recap here before we move into the home opponents. The Broncos are sitting at 4-5 through their away gameswithwins coming from the Raiders, Saints, Seahawks, and Jets.A week agowith the waythe team looked, going 4-5 after their away games would have been a much hotter take than it is today.
Now for the home stretch. Once again, I want to reiterate that we do not have a schedule at this time. That said, just like with the away games, let's start with the division. I think this is a home sweep. That's right,notonly are the Broncos going to sweep the Raiders this yearbutI also think they sweep the entire division at home. The Broncos vastly improved the makeup of this team on paper this offseason. They got younger in a lot of areas and made some key acquisitions in Bo Nix andJohn Franklin-Myers.
The Browns, Steelers, Falcons, Panthers, and Colts will round out the opponents for this year's schedule. The Browns were a great team with Joe Flaccobutwhat will they be with Deshaun Watsonat the helm? That's still up in the airandI will side with the home team here.Thisis a win for Denver.
The game most will have circledandthe league will probably be put in prime-time is this next one. The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming to Mile Highbeing ledby their new quarterback, Russell Wilson. I believe Denver and Pittsburgh are closer in terms of full roster makeup than some will want to admitbutregardless. It's in Denver. The tensions will be high. Both Sean Payton and Russell Wilson will have something to prove. This one is simple. Denver is going to win this game.Period.
The Falcons, Panthers, and Colts are a littletougherto predict because every single year there are handfuls of games that acertainteam should absolutely win and they don't. Denver won't go undefeated at home with a rookie quarterback. Mistakes will happen and it'll be a shock to some. I see two losses here to Atlanta and Indianapolis. Atlanta might have used its #8 selection on a quarterback but whether it's Penix Jr. or Kirk Cousins at the helm, I think this will be a game where Denver comes away whiffing. Indianapolis will be tough regardless of Anthony Richardson's health or Joe Flacco passing the ball.
If the Denver Broncos come out of this year with a 10-7 record that should be able to get them into a wildcard spot for the playoffs. Denver needs this arguably more than any other team in the AFC. They've had eight consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs and there will be quite a bit of noise if Sean Payton is entering year three without at least one trip to the playoffs under his belt during his time in Denver.
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