The NFL is Wide Open: Denver Broncos Time is Now
The NFL is wide open right now. It's time for the Denver Broncos to capitalize.
In professional sports, championship windows open for teams sometimes when they least expect it.
Right now, the NFL is wide open. It's anyone's to win because the usual contenders are down. Bad.
The Denver Broncos time is now.
The NFL is Wide Open
Broncos Country, hell, every football fan of an AFC team is thankful the Chiefs lost on Thanksgiving Day to the Dallas Cowboys. The national media is now coming to grips that the Chiefs—last year's Super Bowl representative in the AFC, blown out by the Eagles—are probably going to miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
After losing to the Cowboys, Kansas City is 6-6, in 9th in the playoff picture and have a 37% chance of making the postseason.
K.C. isn't great on offense nor defense this year, the offensive line is a mess and left tackle Josh Simmons just broke his wrist, and there simply aren't enough playmakers. Patrick Mahomes tried to put the team on his shoulders on Thanksgiving and couldn't carry the load.
As my Chiefs fan friend said repeatedly this year; their good ju-ju has simply run out.
Kansas City has won the AFC West 9 straight times; the Denver Broncos time is now.
Rich Kurtzman
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles just got embarrassed by the Chicago Bears on Black Friday. While the wheels have fallen off for Kansas City, they are in progress of falling off for the Eagles, too. Philly's 8-4 and the 3-seed in the NFC, sure, but their offense is just plain awful.
After being an All-Pro last season and enjoying a career year in basically every stat category, Saquon Barkley is a shadow of himself this season. He's averaging half as many yards per game and his 3.7 yards per carry are 38th among qualified rushers.
Meanwhile, A.J. Brown was whining about not getting the ball enough, and Jalen Hurts can't just Tush Push his way to wins.
When the Denver Broncos beat the Eagles, it was simultaneously the biggest win in Denver franchise history since Super Bowl 50 and it broke the Eagles. They were 4-0 before that game and 4-4 since.
Meanwhile, another preseason Super Bowl contender in the Detroit Lions is falling apart. The Lions (7-5) lost at home to the Packers on Thanksgiving and, like the Chiefs, are currently in third in their division, the NFC North.
They couldn't get any pass rush on Jordan Love, who threw for 4 touchdowns, and couldn't stop the Packers pass rush from assaulting Jared Goff repeatedly.
And like the Chiefs, the Lions are "in the hunt" at 8th in the NFC, with a 43% chance of making the playoffs.
Back on the AFC side of the ledger, the Bills (7-5) are down in 7th and are worse than they have been in a long time. Specifically, because their defense stinks at stopping the run. Josh Allen is a great quarterback, but he doesn't have any great receivers.
Speaking of great quarterbacks, Joe Burrow is back but the Bengals are all but eliminated because he missed nine games.
Still, Cincy beat Baltimore on Thanksgiving, pushing the Ravens (6-6) down to 10th in the AFC. Though, it should be noted they can leapfrog the Steelers (6-5) in fourth if they win the AFC North.
Even if Baltimore makes the playoffs, the highly favored preseason Super Bowl contenders have more defensive starters on the IR than anyone can count.
The Denver Broncos time is now.
Broncos Championship Window is Officially Open
This year has been wild for the Broncos, as they are officially Super Bowl contenders now.
They went from a fringe playoff team to start the season and are currently in position to not only win the AFC West, but possibly win the entire conference in the regular season.
According to FTN Fantasy, the Broncos have a 41% chance of earning the No. 1 seed. It doesn't stop there, though, Denver has a 43.1% chance of making the AFC Championship Game and a 4th-best 8.4% chance of winning the big game this year.
Only the Colts (15.9%) have a better shot from the American, while the Rams (29.3%) and Seahawks (14.3%) have a better chance than the Broncos from the National side of things.
Yes, ideally the Broncos would use this as another "get ready" year in preparation for next season, Year 3 with Bo Nix at quarterback.
But when your window opens, you have to take advantage.
Not only are all the usual suspects down this season, but there are some other urgent reasons the Broncos need to do everything they can to win the whole damn thing this year.
Defensive Cohesion
Denver can't afford to keep every one of their players that are currently on the roster into next year. While they have signed a few guys up for extensions in recent days, some—like John Franklin-Myers—may not be resigned.
The way the NFL is structured, you can't afford to wait around because every year's team is different.
Denver's defense is spectacular right now. They're 3rd in scoring (17.5 PPG), and remain No. 1 in 3rd down and red zone percentage. They also lead the league in sacks and it ain't close.
And they've been able to keep winning when reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain has been out. He suits up this week against the Commanders; a should-be easy win for the Broncos.
The defense is so special, many folks are comparing this 2025 team to the 2015 team that won Super Bowl 50. Yes, defense can win championships.
Vance Joseph's Days are Numbered
Speaking of defense, Joseph has been so phenomenal he will likely get a head coaching job this offseason. And he deserves it.
Joseph has been ballsy and sending Broncos blitzes at the right times, while dropping into coverage when need be, too.
He has Andy Reid's and Patrick Mahomes' number a bit, as they haven't been able to put up 20 points against him in four games they've faced Denver since 2023.
If Joseph leaves this offseason, Denver's defense will change, even if most of the players remain.
Rich Kurtzman
The Other Contenders
2025 has been the year of "Every team is good, but also bad?"
The most complete team in the league this year is the LA Rams; they're 6th in scoring offense and 1st on defense. After them, it's a muddled mess.
Especially on the AFC side of things. Every contender has issues. Let's look at them quickly:
- 1. New England Patriots, 10-2: Drake Maye has been lights out, but the offensive line is down two starters on the left side currently. The defense is solid, especially against the run, but they're dead-last in red zone scoring allowed (72.1%). And they haven't played anyone, with the easiest schedule in football.
- 3. Indianapolis Colts, 8-3: They have the best offense in football and a top-1o defense, but Daniel Jones is playing on a fractured fibula. Besides that, their defense is 27th in 3rd down percentage (42.9) and the Broncos already basically beat them if it weren't for that idiotic leverage penalty. Like the Patriots, they've had a really easy schedule, second-easiest to New England in fact.
- 4. Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-5: They might not even make it in the playoffs as they slip down the standings with the Ravens trying to surge. Aaron Rodgers is 42 years old and just missed last week with a broken left wrist and their defense has given up the most passing yards in the league. Even Mike Tomlin may not survive this season.
- 5. LA Chargers, 7-4: Oh yeah, the Chargers. Well, despite everyone loving Justin Herbert, their offense is just 20th in scoring and 25th in the red zone. They just got embarrassed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, with a season-low 135-yard offensive performance. The defense is 10th, and will have to carry them but Denver will want revenge from the earlier loss in the City of Angels.
- 6. Jacksonville Jaguars, 7-4: Two words: Trevor Lawrence. The dude just isn't good enough to win your team playoff games. (He has one playoff win but also threw 4 INTs in that game, in 2023.) They're middle of the pack on O (15th) and D (12th) and while the defense is best in the league against the run, they're bad vs. the pass.
- 7. Buffalo Bills, 7-4: Despite sitting in 7th, the Bills are the scariest team of all the rest for the Broncos. They blew out Denver in the playoffs last year, although those were different teams for each side. The Broncos are better, the Bills are worse. Josh Allen can almost single-handedly win them games, but he needs more receivers and his best tight end, Dalton Kincaid, is injured. Their pass defense is solid, but their run defense is terrible; the Bills are beatable but not the ideal first-round matchup for the Broncos.
- 8. Houston Texans, 6-5: Denver already beat them in Houston and knocked C.J. Stroud out of the game (sadly). A great defense and a bad offense; they're nothing to worry about.
- 9. Kansas City Chiefs, 6-6: If the Chiefs get in, they'll be dangerous just due to their long resume of wins in the playoffs. But the dynasty is over and they're as beatable as they have been since Mahomes joined in 2017.
- 10. Baltimore Ravens, 6-6: They have too many injuries on defense, and Lamar has been banged up this year too. But they're scarier than the Steelers.
What about the Broncos?
The offense has been god awful at times, especially early on in games. But two of their better offensive performances have come in the last month: The 44-point game against the Cowboys, and the win over the Chiefs. So, there's hope they've turned the corner there. Bo Nix has been really up and down all year, and he'll need a run of good games to win in the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl. Defensively, they're arguably the best group in the NFL, with a small downside of not forcing many turnovers (9). Special teams has also been suspect this year; the aforementioned leverage penalty that cost them the game in Indy, a blocked field goal vs. the Texans, a muffed punt vs. the Chargers, and a second-worst return yardage against number.
Rich Kurtzman
What Denver Needs To Do Next
Tomorrow, the Broncos play their only Sunday Night Football game of the year, a game in which Denver is heavily favored.
Despite playing on the road, the Broncos are 5.5-point favorites and should win with ease. The Commanders are without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, who horrifically injured his non-throwing elbow a few weeks ago. And their defense is one of the worst in the league.
Denver should blow out the Commies on the road and make it a statement game.
Then, they face the Raiders in Vegas, another should-be blowout win for Denver. Of course, it was a sloppy and ugly 10-7 win a few weeks ago, albeit on Thursday Night.
Still, the Broncos should be 11-2 in two weeks time.
Then it gets tough.
They host the Packers, face Jacksonville at home, play Kansas City in Missouri on Christmas Night, and then the Chargers to end the season at home. Win two of four of those, and Denver should improve to 13-4 and win the division.
Winning the west may come down to that final week vs. LA, but the Chargers have a tougher remaining strength of schedule. It's also of curious note that Denver could finish off the Chiefs' playoff chances on Christmas in K.C.
But considering the NFL is wide open currently, Denver has to know the time to go on a run is now.
