They aren't winning out, but may go 9-7 somehow. Lots of shifty teams. Wow!
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The Broncos could absolutely make the playoffs.

They play backup QB’s the next 2 weeks, then Cleveland at home followed by the Raiders.

Those are all easy games which would give them a chance to beat the Chargers at home for the 6th seed.

Would love to see them make the playoffs so Vance keeps his job. They’ll be one-and-done.
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What exactly would be the tiebreaker for the Chiefs/Texans? Conference record and then strength of schedule or common opponents?
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Head-to head is a flawed way to determine seeding IMO. A loss, on the road, in week 2 shouldn't be the determining factor...especially if it was a single, non-division game. One team was at home..and the other had to travel.

AFCN teams have a much tougher conference schedule than AFCE...every year. Chiefs had to play the 10-1 Rams on the road but a game against the 2-9 49ers essentially counts the same.

Strength of schedule should be the #1 determining factor after record IMO. Not everybody has to play the same quality of teams...an 11-5 record against bottom-dwellers isn't the same as 11-5 against top talent.

Chiefs have played The Rams, Chargers, NE and Pittsburgh on the Road...Texans toughest road games are NE, Colts, Redskins and Broncos.
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That’s why teams have to prove it in the playoffs. It separates contenders from pretenders
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Pfffft. It's the new Donkeys; find a way to fuck it up they will.
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Yeah, but they dont have the coaching acumen to get "hot" on the road. They are 5-6 for a reason and got stomped by the Jets and Ravens..

These last two games came down to Rivers being Rivers when shit got real...and the Steelers fumbling through the end zone and Conner losing the ball in the red zone...Pittsburgh "should" have won by at least 10 points. They were the better team but shit broke against them..

Of course entitled Donk fans think the last two games are a precursor to "turning the corner"...when in actuality they got lucky...it just happened to transpire in back-to-back games..

You cant hope the other team shits the bed every week to bail you out...but then again, that was how 2015 played out along with the refs steering shit. They arent getting that NFL corporate love anymore...they have no one to sell horrible pizza to the unwashed masses.

I will say that Sanders is a clutch MF....really impressed with him playing as great as he is on a loser team with nothing to live for.
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Sanders. Isn't he the lad that is now kicking himself in the ass for running off to Dungver?
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Denver isn't a lock to win any of these games. They are still a bad team.
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Denver has played a pretty tough schedule early and are 5-6. Now the easy part.

They're a pretty solid team. Not crazy explosive on offense with the pass game obviously, but they can run it and play D.
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I disagree with the "solid" part. They're nothing special. They're 5-6 heading for 7-9 / 8-8 purgatory. You need more than what they've got to be successful in the NFL today. Without a QB and passing game, you're N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

The other part of the purgatory equation is believing you're "solid" when you're not, as I'm hoping that Elway does. It will prolong their current situation.
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Too many broken souls and crying girls on that squad now. Alight the dumpster in preparation for its garbagey guest...
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I don't disagree with you... SOS would be an interesting way to do it, just not sure you'll get the owners to agree. They'll take the current model and roll with it.
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Rivers definitely shat the bed, they had that game locked up. PIT... too many turnovers when it mattered, that's just as much on them as it is good play by the defense. That last INT... trying to make something out of nothing.

Denver definitely played the toughest spot of their shedule already. 8 games against teams with 6 or more wins, 5 of those with 8 or more wins. They played poorly vs NYJ and BAL, missed a late FG to win at home vs HOU. And, they were in it with KC both times and took the Rams to a close ending.

So, no ... I don't think they've turned a corner and are now all world ready to advance. I think they are a good, not great team with issues. They'll beat some tough teams, which they have - hang tight with great teams and disappoint against poor teams. It is what it is.

But, the next 5 games - those are definitely all winnable. (they won't win all 5 though) CLE will be a tough one - when is the last time those words have ever been typed?
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They’d have to change the scheduling process though because right now, SOS is partially predetermined by how a team finished the previous season. The reason the Chiefs, for example, have such a tough schedule is because they won the division last year. It would be similar to the BCS, where the top teams would have an inherent advantage week 1.


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