The Denver Broncos are streaking — through the quad and into the gymnasium.
With Sunday’s 29-12 victory over Cleveland, Sean Payton’s club has won five straight games, turning a 1-5 start into a 6-5 record to put Denver into contention for an AFC playoff bid.
The five victories weren’t against weak teams either. Four out of the five wins were against teams currently in playoff position, namely, Kansas City, Buffalo, Minnesota, Cleveland. The fifth win was against the Packers, a team that could potentially claw their way back into contention.
Indeed, the Broncos have gained an advantage from playing against backup quarterbacks in the previous two weeks. However, considering the quarterback injuries prevalent in the league, this could be said about the majority of the teams.
The Broncos’ turnaround has been remarkable, especially after starting the season 0-3, which included a 70-20 loss in Miami.
“I’ve never doubted. I’ve never doubted our football team [and] where we could go,” Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson said Sunday, via the team’s official transcript. “I think the biggest thing is just understanding that we’ve lost some close games, and we lost some tough games early but that helps you prepare and understand that it’s a long journey. We have a lot more ahead of us — lots more football. A lot more great teams ahead of us. We have to stay focused on us. The biggest thing that Broncos Country is feeling us as players organizationally, inside that building, and most importantly inside that locker room is a relentless belief in each other. A relentless belief in the coaches and who we are and where we’re going — and what it takes to win. I think that we’re starting to learn what it takes to win. That’s a good thing in this building and we need that. We have to stay the course there.”
According to NFL Research, Wilson has become the second Broncos QB, following Peyton Manning in 2012 and 2013, to win five consecutive games with a passer rating of over 90 in each since the 1970 merger.
Recently, the Broncos offense has improved, with Wilson displaying a magic touch that was previously missing during his early tenure in Denver. However, it’s the defense that has truly made a significant turnaround.
Vance Joseph’s defense has shown significant improvement, allowing almost 20 less PPG in their recent six games compared to the initial five, in which they conceded the highest in the NFL with 36.2 PPG (Weeks 1-5). According to NFL Research, this difference of 19.7 PPG, if maintained, would be the biggest improvement in PPG allowed from the first five games of a season to the remainder in NFL history.
If we exclude the 50-point loss to Miami, Denver’s -34 point differential through Week 12 changes to a +16, making it comparable to other playoff contenders.
“Firstly, our resilience is noteworthy,” Wilson stated. “The highlight of our team is our sustained resilience throughout all these games. We’ve encountered some truly formidable teams, including top-tier ones. In the AFC, we had notable encounters with Kansas City and Buffalo on their home turf which was a challenging environment. Cleveland has been consistently excellent throughout the year with a solid defense among other things. However, I believe our greatest strength is our unity.”
Our defense has been exceptional, ranking among the best in the world. The team’s performance has been incredible, thanks largely to Vance Joseph’s excellent coaching. He prepares the team for challenging matches every week. In professional sports, adversity is inevitable, and how a team responds to it reveals its character and potential. We’ve successfully managed these challenges. However, there’s still a lot of the game left. We need to remain modest and driven, understanding that there’s still much to achieve. We’re only just getting started and need to maintain our focus, taking it one game, one week, and one practice at a time.
With a cluster of teams sitting at six wins in the AFC, the Broncos must keep stacking Ws to complete the improbable turnaround. Given where they were a month ago, it’s a stunning U-turn for the Mile High club.
