DENVER (KDVR) — Another week, another Denver Broncos win.
The team now sits at 8-2 on the season, the joint-best record in the NFL, shared with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, with only a few teams in the playoffs able to match up.
The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks are on pace to go 8-2, and with their wins on Monday, so will the Philadelphia Eagles. However, none of those three are guaranteed, so if we’re talking about the best locks, it’s just the Broncos, Patriots, and Colts.
Bronco case
Against the team’s arch rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos were able to pull out another marginal win, 10-7, during Thursday Night Football.
It was the seventh straight win, the longest streak in the NFL, also held alongside the Patriots.
Broncos fans have certainly been on an emotional rollercoaster this season, with the majority of games providing the kind of compelling drama that ensures this team needs a title to match.
This team loves close games and has an even greater love for late dramatic plays.
Fans always want their team to come away with a big win, but that’s something the Broncos don’t do often. Close matches might make people worry about their legitimacy as competitors, but if they can do this repeatedly, is it really luck, or are they just great at getting over things?
The Broncos and Colts are the only two of the three teams, including the Patriots, who have played or will play each other in the regular season this year.
The Colts walked away with a one-point win over the Broncos after a game-winning field goal with no time left in the game in Week 2.
At first, the Colts lost after missing a field goal, but before the Broncos could take the field to celebrate the win, the referees threw the flag, and a Broncos penalty meant the Colts were able to make a second drive, this time 15 yards out. The miss turned into a hit, and the Broncos gave up a close goal.
The Broncos followed that up with another loss to the Los Angeles Chargers the following week, also losing by a field goal, 23-20.
Since then, the team has not lost a single match. They’ve had some close encounters with teams that have underperformed this season, but they also pulled off a gutsy win over the defending champion Eagles in Philly.
The Colts’ two losses came to the Rams, who also appear to be a contender for the best team in the league, and the other to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who sit at the top of their division. Both matches were some distance from a draw.
For the Patriots, the team’s losses came early, just like the Broncos’. They lost to the Raiders in Week 1, a team the Broncos had just beaten, and two weeks later, they also found themselves on the losing side of the game against the Steelers. Like the Colts, the losses were within relegation.
conclusion
It is very difficult to find any significant advantages that one team has over another.
Against the Colts, the Broncos won it, until they didn’t.
Of the three teams, the Broncos have the smallest margin of points in losses, losing two games by just four points, compared to a 14-point margin between the Patriots and Colts.
All teams have seven games remaining.
In those games, the Patriots face only one team, the Buffalo Bills, who have a winning record. Meanwhile, the Broncos and Colts will each have to face five teams with a winning record. The Patriots certainly have the more forgiving schedule
The Eagles, Rams and Seahawks are close in contention, so the top three teams could quickly turn into the top six.
Two of the Broncos’ most important games come against the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that could win the Super Bowl no matter how their regular season goes.
It’s very plausible that the Chiefs will somehow find their way to the top of the AFC West, but the Broncos could put that idea to rest by beating them next week.