The 2023 Denver Broncos may not be the worst team in the NFL after all.
The Broncos emerged as winners in Week 7, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 19-17, for their first home win of the season. Not only did Denver avoid their first ever 0-4 start at home, they finally broke an embarrassing streak of 10 consecutive games lost when leading at halftime.
Through the first seven games of the season, the Broncos are 2-5. And while they’re still the worst team in the AFC from a record standpoint, they actually have the same amount of wins as the Los Angeles Chargers and are just two games behind the Buffalo Bills for the final playoff spot in the wild card race.
But don’t let the win fool you — the Broncos are still one of the worst teams in the NFL.
There the Broncos were, once again struggling to score touchdowns in the red zone. Despite dominating the first half of play, Denver held just a 9-0 lead due to their ineptitude in the red zone. In fact, they went 0-for-3 in the red zone in the first half before finally finishing off their one red zone attempt in the second half with a touchdown.
There was Wilson once again, finishing with a pretty-looking stat line — 20-of-29 passing, one touchdown, zero turnovers and a 98.9 passer rating — but being unable to finish drives by completing passes inside the 20-yard-line. In fact, he went 1-of-4 for one yard during the first half in the red zone.
And yet again, there was another coaching blunder by Sean Payton after the Broncos scored their first touchdown with 6:17 remaining in the third quarter, opting to kick an extra point to go up 16-3 instead of a two-point conversion to stretch the lead to two full touchdowns.
Thankfully, kicker Will Lutz and the defensive unit eliminated any awkward postgame questions about the decision when they sealed the victory with a game-winning field goal and forced interception in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.
The 2023 Denver Broncos may not be the worst team in the NFL after all.
The Broncos emerged as winners in Week 7, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 19-17, for their first home win of the season. Not only did Denver avoid their first ever 0-4 start at home, they finally broke an embarrassing streak of 10 consecutive games lost when leading at halftime.
Through the first seven games of the season, the Broncos are 2-5. And while they’re still the worst team in the AFC from a record standpoint, they actually have the same amount of wins as the Los Angeles Chargers and are just two games behind the Buffalo Bills for the final playoff spot in the wild card race.
But don’t let the win fool you — the Broncos are still one of the worst teams in the NFL.
There the Broncos were, once again struggling to score touchdowns in the red zone. Despite dominating the first half of play, Denver held just a 9-0 lead due to their ineptitude in the red zone. In fact, they went 0-for-3 in the red zone in the first half before finally finishing off their one red zone attempt in the second half with a touchdown.
There was Wilson once again, finishing with a pretty-looking stat line — 20-of-29 passing, one touchdown, zero turnovers and a 98.9 passer rating — but being unable to finish drives by completing passes inside the 20-yard-line. In fact, he went 1-of-4 for one yard during the first half in the red zone.
And yet again, there was another coaching blunder by Sean Payton after the Broncos scored their first touchdown with 6:17 remaining in the third quarter, opting to kick an extra point to go up 16-3 instead of a two-point conversion to stretch the lead to two full touchdowns.
Thankfully, kicker Will Lutz and the defensive unit eliminated any awkward postgame questions about the decision when they sealed the victory with a game-winning field goal and forced interception in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.
This victory, which will mean very little once Denver matches up with the Kansas City Chiefs and Bills in their next two games, shouldn’t change the Broncos’ plans at the trade deadline. In other words, the Broncos should remain sellers at the deadline.
Prior to their win over the Packers, Payton even drew comparisons to this year’s Broncos and the 2022 Detroit Lions.
“There’s a fine line here between a groove and a rut. You take a look, and I’ll give you an example—Detroit,” Payton said earlier in the week. “A year ago, I watched it as a media member, covering a handful of tough losses. They were 1-6. I know [Lions HC] Dan [Campbell] well, and you keep fighting. There’s a grit element involved. Some mental toughness that’s involved. Pretty soon, here they are at the end of the season. They were eliminated before [they played their final game], but they were in contention.”
Payton and the organization have done a great job at making it appear as if Denver is still trying to win games. Heck, they remain adamant that they won’t just give up veteran players in exchange for any draft haul at the deadline on October 31.
“We’re not looking to do business with any of our players,” Payton said on October 10. “That doesn’t prevent teams from calling at times. We just — you pick the phone up, but that’s kind of where it’s at.”
