The Denver Broncos are good enough to win Super Bowl LX this upcoming February.
So let’s stop dancing around that being a possibility.
This isn’t a prediction that it’s going to happen, but it also isn’t completely and utterly unrealistic.
And what’s the point of being a sports fan if you can’t dream big?
The oddsmakers have the Broncos at 27-1 to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Of course you remember that’s the same venue Denver won Super Bowl 50 in a decade ago.
13 NFL teams have better odds than the Broncos to win the whole thing, but seven of those are also 20-1 or longer. There isn’t that much of a gap in the eyes of the wise guys between Denver and Cincinnati (20-1), Washington (21-1), Green Bay (21-1), San Francisco (23-1), Minnesota (24-1), the Los Angeles Chargers (26-1) and Houston (26-1).
Let’s start with the defense, which was the reason the Broncos threw us a parade in the winter of 2016. Vance Joseph’s squad isn’t quite as good as the one that featured the likes of Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr., but it might not be that far behind.
There’s real momentum Denver could have the best defense in the NFL this season. Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen are monsters up front. Pat Surtain II is the top cornerback in the league, fresh off his Defensive Player of the Year award. The additions of Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga and Jahdae Barron look great on paper. And John Franklin-Meyers, Jonathon Cooper, Brandon Jones and D.J. Jones are very solid players as well.
They’ll be flying around the field, just like a season ago, and with added depth shouldn’t lose momentum like what happened in December or against the Bills in the playoffs.
On offense, second-year quarterbacks grabbing the trophy isn’t unheard of. Bo Nix will be looking to accomplish what Kurt Warner, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and Russell Wilson all did, claiming a championship in their sophomore seasons. Joe Burrow, Dan Marino, and Colin Kaepernick also reached the Super Bowl in their second years.
Nix has that kind of potential. He finished with the sixth most touchdown passes in the NFL a season ago, despite not throwing his first one until Week 4. Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., Devaughn Vele, Pat Bryant and Troy Franklin is a fine receiver group. The addition of Evan Engram at tight end should help tremendously. And RJ Harvey might be the best Broncos running back since Phillip Lindsay.
Plus, don’t count out head coach Sean Payton. The guy is a winner, year in and year out, even when his rosters aren’t the best. Payton dragged Denver to eight victories in 2023 even when he and Russell Wilson didn’t get along. Last year, he took a rookie QB in Nix and a good defense to lead the Broncos to a 10-7 record.
Why can’t they win 12 or 13 games, take the AFC West, and host playoff games at Empower Field at Mile High? Coming off a blowout defeat in the Super Bowl last year, along with several Houdini-like wins, the Chiefs are poised to come back to Earth. It’s not hard to envision Kansas City going 11-6… or worse.
And the Chargers? They’re always a pest, but good for six or seven losses. That’s just what the franchise does. If the Broncos can get to 12 victories, the division should be theirs.
The postseason will be tricky, but Baltimore and Buffalo have shown they can’t win the big games in January. The Bengals have no defense. No one in the AFC South is scary and the window might be closing for the Chiefs.
So, let’s stop pretending like the expectations this year for the Broncos aren’t high. Like, sky-high. Sometimes an ascension to a Super Bowl level can happen faster than anyone expected.
That’s what’s currently happening in Denver. It’s June, there’s no point in not thinking large. That, after all, is why we invest so much into this team — to win titles.