Much was made of the 2024 Denver Broncos and their inability to bring home one-score games, and rightfully so. Denver's only win of that kind was against a Jets team that was eliminated from the playoffs fairly early. Denver's six other one-score games all resulted in losses, making up six of their seven losses overall.
This trend continued into 2025, with the Broncos starting the season 1-2 in one-score games, with their only victory being over a brutal Titans team. At 1-2, it was incredibly clear to anyone following the Broncos that if they were going to survive in the 2025 AFC, they were going to need to win close games and win them early. Since then, the Broncos have been the NFL's best one-score team.
The Broncos are winners of six in a row, four of which have been one-score games. Beginning with their stunning win over the Eagles in Week 5, the Broncos have outscored opponents at an absurd rate of 79-20. Simply put, the Broncos have become the NFL's best comeback team and are now a truly elite one-score team.
The Broncos have turned their one-score woes into a major strength in 2025
The Broncos were a strong team in 2024 that deserved their playoff spot, but the truth that they couldn't win close games against good teams was hanging over their head. After another rocky start to the season in that category, they have seemed to right the ship, and in a dramatic way. Even if the Broncos were an average team in this regard, they would be on the fringes of the AFC playoff hunt.
Not only have the Broncos become a strong one-score team, but they have become football's best. Their ability to win one-score games has become their biggest tool and has propelled them to a share of football's best record. So much of their success in these games has come down to the right arm and legs of Bo Nix, who is quickly becoming one of football's most clutch quarterbacks.
With an extended run of success in these games, the Broncos are developing an identity as a gritty team that never faces a deficit too large. With some of their most important games of the season coming up, the Broncos find themselves as a team that can't be counted out and can't be defeated before the end of the fourth quarter. The Broncos have the makeup of a tough postseason out, and are quickly becoming one of the NFL's elites.