The Broncos finished up the 2023 season at 8-9 with a 27-14 loss to the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday in Week 18. Denver has now finished below .500 for seven consecutive seasons and it is the eighth straight year that the Broncos have missed the playoffs. Only the NY Jets have a longer playoff drought in the NFL. To me, it was a disappointing way for the Broncos season to end. I would have really liked to see Denver finish with a winning record at 9-8 and end the losing streak to the Raiders, which now stands at 8 in a row. Sean Payton's first season as head coach in Denver was a wild, unpredictable ride. From starting at 1-5, to winning five in a row to get to 6-6, to being 7-6 with a real shot at the playoffs, losing a heartbreaker on Christmas Eve to the Patriots to fall to 7-8, benching Russell Wilson, then finishing out of the playoffs and another losing year. It felt like three different seasons in one. Here are my takeaways on the season and going forward for the Broncos.....
1) At 1-5, I really didn't panic too much. Denver had blown games to the Raiders, Commanders, and Jets at home. They gave up 70 points to the Dolphins and played hard but fell short to Chiefs on a Thursday night. There was some hope and time to turn the season around a little bit. At that point, I just wanted Denver to get to 4-6 just to give me something to watch for the rest of the season. I just wanted some meaningful games to watch later in the season, and I didn't think at the time that Denver was as bad as the 1-5 record indicated.
2) The Broncos responded with a five game winning streak starting with a win over the Packers at home. The next week, they finally ended their losing streak to the Chiefs with a convincing win to get to 3-5 at the bye week. I felt optimistic that they could actually turn the season around. Following the bye, Denver beat the Bills in a wild game on MNF to get to 4-5, then followed it up with a comeback win over the Vikings on SNF to get to 5-5, and now we really had a reason to believe. The Broncos buried the Browns to get to 6-5, and there was legitimate playoff talk. The season had turned around, and it looked like Denver could snag that last seed in the AFC. It felt really fun again to be a Broncos fan.
3) Unfortunately, things didn't go that way for the Broncos down the stretch. A tough loss in Houston dropped them to 6-6, but they rebounded with a dominating win in LA over the Chargers to get to 7-6. Again, a favorable schedule showed a path to 10-7 and a wild card berth. I was truly sucked in at this point. I could feel a playoff spot within reach.
4) After getting blown out in Detroit 42-17 in Week 15, the Broncos stood at 7-7 at hosted the 3-11 Patriots on Christmas Eve. Denver trailed 23-7 in the 4th quarter, rallied to tie the game late, only to lose it 26-23 on a last second 56 yard field goal. It was one of the most disappointing losses the Broncos have had in recent years. At 7-8, they now faced only a 5% chance at making the playoffs.
5) A few days after the loss to the Pats, Sean Payton announced that he was benching Russell Wilson in favor Jarret Stidham. Payton said the move was to give the offense a spark, but we all know the economic reality of his contract played a major role. Stidham helped Denver defeat the depleted Chargers in Week 17 to get to 8-8 but Denver was eliminated from playoff contention by the end of that day's games. In the meaningless Week 18 game, Denver lost to the Raiders to finish 8-9 on the year. Another year and another losing season.
6) Personally, there was a time after that five game winning streak that I really felt that Denver was going to sneak into the playoffs at 10-7 or even 9-8. I got my hopes up, but it just didn't materialize. I still feel that there were some really good moments this season. It was the first time I was actually proud to wear my Broncos gear around town in the past few years.
7) As far as Russell Wilson goes, he certainly played better this year than last year. He had 26 TDs and only 8 INTs and was in the top 10 in passer rating when he got benched. He led to comeback wins over the Bears, Bills, andVikings. He was managing the game and doing just enough off script and in the red-zone to help the Broncos win. You could tell that Sean Payton dialed back a lot of his offense after Denver started 1-5, but they were winning games and it was working. He wasn't playing like he did in 2019 or 2020, but again it was working. Obviously, Sean Payton didn't see that and pulled the plug once they fell to 7-8 after the Pats game. Now, it looks like he will be released in March and Denver will eat over $80 million in cap hits. Denver went to Russ in October to try to get him to delay his guarantee in March for 2025, but he declined. I get why Denver approached him and I get why Russ declined. He is not playing at a level that commands the salary he was supposed to get paid the next few years, but why pay him to go away? It is not like they are picking #1 overall and have a young QB ready to go. The whole thing is just a disaster and didn't work out-which is really depressing. I feel like they should have just let Russ finish out the year as the starter, and make a decision on him in March. Sean Payton should have tried to work with him as his QB, and even maybe still drafted a QB in the first round for the future. That's my take on the situation. When the Broncos traded for Wilson, I thought it was going to catapult the franchise back into the playoffs and contend for AFC West titles. It didn't work out, and I was dead wrong. Now, the Broncos have to deal with the ramifications.
8) Ultimately, the Broncos were right there this year, but losing home games to the Raiders, Commanders, Jets, and Patriots doomed their season. They started 1-5, and finished 7-4, but it just was too much of a hole for this team to dig out of. The other part was that the Raiders finished 8-9 and fired Josh McDaniels mid season, and the Chargers finished 5-12 and fired Brandon Staley during the season. The Chiefs won the division at 11-7, but they were vunerable all year, and this was the year to actually catch the Chiefs, and the Broncos didn't do it.
9) There Broncos opponents are set for 2024: Home games include KC, Las Vegas, Chargers, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Carolina, and Indy. Away games include: KC, Las Vegas, Chargers, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Seattle, and the Jets.
10) As for the outlook for next year, the Broncos will pick 12th overall in the draft. Sean Payton now has a full year of coaching this team under his belt, and there will be names that will get shipped off via trade or release. The biggest and most important question the Broncos have is what they will do at QB. Russell Wilson will get released in March. The Broncos have Jarret Stidham under contract for another year, but he looks like a backup/spot starter at best. We know he isn't the long-term answer. The Broncos can draft a QB in the first round, but they don't have the draft capital to move up to number 1,2, or 3 and draft a guy like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels. At #12, they are looking at options like Michael Penix, Bo Nix, or J.J. McCarthy. As far as a free agent veteran, Denver is looking at options like Jimmy Garoppolo or Ryan Tannehill. Again, not the greatest outlook for Broncos fans. Every other roster move they make will be subject to what cap availability they have with a lot of dead cap going to Russell Wilson contract. The outlook for this offseason is not the brightest to say the least.
11) For now, I am putting to Broncos 2023 season to bed. I'm not going to worry or think about their offseason moves until the time arrives. In March, I see what they do in free agency. In April, I see what they do in the draft. Other than that, I am not going to get too high or too low on any of the rumors and innuendo about this team. I am going to take a break from Broncos news and coverage for a while and decompress after another disappointing year.
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