Bronco football is still a few months away but after the Broncos released their schedule, I wanted to go game by game and provide my brief thoughts and scores on which games we win and which games we lose and why. Lets get right to it:
Week 1: Broncos @ Seahawks (MNF)
A very intriguing matchup to start the season as the Broncos open in Seattle as the NFL wastes no time to display Russ's return to Seattle on national TV. Though the Broncos have the superior team in comparison to Seattle, revenge games are very tough. A few examples are Peyton's return to indy and Tom's return to Gillette Stadium. Manning in his return to Indy lost 33-39 back in 2013 and Brady and the Bucs struggled in Boston as they won an ugly game 19-17 against a New England team that wasn't really beginning to win yet. Regardless of who starts for the Seahawks whether it be Drew Lock or Geno Smith, it will be a closer game than people think
Final Prediction: Broncos win 27-20
Week 2: Texans @ Broncos
The Broncos home opener should be a fairly easy one as a young Texans team comes to town. Nothing really much to state here as Denver should take care of business. Though I will say Davis Mills was impressive down the stretch last season finishing with 9 TDs and 2 INTs his last 5 games. Nevertheless, Denver should cruise to victory on this one.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 30-13
Week 3: 49ers @ Broncos(SNF)
The 49ers would be a very interesting matchup to Denver. However, this game is a little tricky as it is unknown who will for sure be the Qb next season and what the situation is with Deebo Samuel. Assuming Deebo stays and Trey Lance starts(which is what all indications are), it could be a very tricky game for Denver's defense as they historically struggle against mobile QBs who have a ground oriented offense around them such as Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts whom both torched Denver the previous season. The 49ers also know Russ very well and I believe this will be the first game where Russ's unfamiliarity with the offense and coach Hackett's inexperience will really show especially on the big stage of Sunday Night Football.
Final Prediction: Broncos lose 20-17
Week 4: Broncos @ Raiders
The Raiders are no team to sleep on as they acquired arguably the best receiver in football in Davante Adams. Denver has struggled to win on the road vs the Raiders since 2015 and unfortunately I do see that trend continuing as Russ and Hackett are still in their early phases of working together. It might be one of those blowout losses that will cause the media to overreact and state the Broncos made a mistake trading for Wilson.
Final Prediction: Broncos lose 34-20
Week 5: Colts @ Broncos(TNF)
The Colts will be a very solid team with Matt Ryan leading the way and young stud Jonathan Taylor on the rise. I believe after a rough first quarter to the season, Russ will start cooking and put his best all around performance of the season up to this point in front of the home fans especially after a crushing loss to their most hated rival the week before. I expect a dominant Broncos victory on primetime.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 35-17
Week 6: Broncos @ Chargers
Offseason champs LA Chargers look good on paper once again but for some reason has not put together a complete season and has failed to make the playoffs mainly due to boneheaded decisions in the clutch ore their inability to hold on to leads. I do believe Brandon Staley has learned from his rookie year and will do a better job deciding when to go for it on 4th down and when not but mistakes will still be there and plus they are the Chargers and this will be one of their games where they play well the whole game and come up short in the clutch.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 27-24
Week 7: Jets @ Broncos
This is a tricky one. The Jets has a very good draft but it will be up to their second year quarter back Zach Wilson who can ensure that the Jets are able to take that next step and show signs of relevancy in the NFL. They will show more fight than what they displayed last year after being curb stomped in Denver 26-0. It will be a close ball game through 3 quarter and Mr. Unlimited will take care of the rest in the 4th quarter as Denver will pull away
Final Prediction: Broncos win 30-17
Week 8: Broncos @ Jags
The Broncos will face another 2021 draft prospect in Trevor Lawrence for the second time and unlike the Jets they did not have a great draft. Doug Pederson, however, is the captain of the ship there replacing the infamous Urban Meyer and I personally believe he will get the best out of Trevor Lawrence in his second year but the rest of the Jags roster is just not good enough to compete in this league. Broncos win this one handedly.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 27-10
Week 10: Broncos @ Titans
This seems like a tough matchup but I believe the Titans will be a mess this year especially after the comments Ryan Tannehill made on Malik Willis about how it is not his responsibility to take the rookie under his wing and help develop him. I think because of that there will be increasing tension in the locker room and I do believe Tannehill will lose his job to Malik Willis by this point in the season. Broncos win easily especially if Willis is the one starting.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 28-10
Week 11: Raiders @ Broncos
No way will the Broncos be swept by the raiders for the 3rd straight year. Denver will come prepared to avenge their early season loss and play a very good game vs the Raiders and at this point Russ and Hackett will be firing on all cylinders together. Raiders are still a very tough matchup because of their pass rush and their much improved ariel attack and Derek Carr is still one of the very few QBs who play exceptionally well in Mile High. Would be nice for Denver to avenge their loss with a curb-stomping but realistically I do not see it happening.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 31-27
Week 12: Broncos @ Panthers
An early game as the Broncos go out to Charlotte. The Panthers may go through a carousel of QBs this season and usually when a team has to resort to multiple QBs not due to injury, it is trouble. Denver should win this one with ease.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 24-10
Week 13: Broncos @ Ravens
This is going to be a fun one down in Baltimore. The Ravens will be back and healthy and look to have one of their best wins of the season vs Denver. It will be a dog fight but until Denver shows the ability to contain mobile QBs I find it hard for the defense to get off the field on critical 3rd downs and that will be ultimately the reason why the Broncos will lose this game.
Final Prediction: Broncos lose 24-20
Week 14: Chiefs @ Broncos(SNF)
This is what the Broncos got Russel Wilson for. To finally get the Broncos over the top against their divisional foes who they have failed to beat since Week 2 of 2015. I believe Denver and that mile high crowd will come fired up like never before. It might be the loudest it has been since the AFC championship back in 2016 vs the Patriots. I believe just off of pure adrenaline, the Broncos will actually win this game in a blow out. However, to make things clear, Denver blowing out KC would not be an indication that the Broncos are a far superior team but I predict a blowout because on that night on primetime in front of the home fans coming off of a loss makes the perfect set up for a massive win for Denver.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 41-20
Week 15: Cardinals @ Broncos
Russ will face a familiar foe in the Cardinals. The Cardinals at this point will be rolling and playing good football after rough start as Deondre Hopkins will be back from his suspension and have a few games under his belt. Kyler is another mobile QB and like I once said I am not very confident when it comes to Denver defending mobile QBs but I do believe they will play him much better after having exposure to Lamar and Trey Lance. To me, this is a Pick Em game but Denver will get my vote for this game just because they are at home.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 27-23
Week 16: Broncos @ Rams
This will be by far one of the best games of the season. A Christmas day special that will set the NFL World on fire as the Broncos take on Matthew Stafford and the defending champ LA Rams. Should be a great game to watch but I unfortunately do think Denver will lose in the end as their inexperience will show especially since the stakes are much higher in December and the young players on Denver will finally be playing meaningful games late December but as a result, the nerves may start to kick in and the Rams Championship DNA will be on full display especially down the stretch.
Final Prediction: Broncos lose 34-31
Week 17: Broncos @ Chiefs
The Chiefs will be ready to play and avenge their humiliating loss from their previous meeting. Also I do not believe Denver will sweep KC as they are just too good even without Tyreek Hill. Chiefs win fairly handedly back home in arrowhead.
Final Prediction: Broncos lose 30-20
Week 18: Chargers @ Broncos
This game could be for the division or for playoff standings between the 2 teams as I do believe these teams will have very similar records despite what I joked about earlier when speaking on the Chargers. The Chargers I believe will not be ready for this type of stage as their QB and HC are still very young as this game will basically be a playoff game and I trust Wilson more than Herbert. Denver will sweep the Chargers in 2 close ball games this year.
Final Prediction: Broncos win 27-24
Final record: 12-5 (1st in the Division)
I cannot wait for the NFL season to start as it finally feels like the Broncos have a real shot to win it all!
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