I am a Denver Broncos fan, and I can say with honesty that this is the most excited I’ve been to watch this team play in a very long time. However, it wasn’t always that way.
Let’s start at the beginning. Free from the Nathaniel Hackett era, we experience a very similar score after the first game: 17-16, the exact same way the season started last year. I was immediately worried that it would be a repeat of last year. However, it wasn’t. IT. WAS. WORSE. A missed 2-point conversion against the Commanders (It was absolutely Pass Interference, IYKYK). LOSING 70-20 TO THE DOLPHINS. And of course, losing to Hackett and the Jets. It was horrible. I had lost all hope and was begging for Caleb Williams. Now all of a sudden we’re 6-6 and have a shot at the playoffs? What happened?
In my personal opinion, there were two major things that changed. First, the defense got younger and got back to what worked the past several years. As good as Randy Gregory and Frank Clark were, they were hurting the defense more than helping. Letting the young guys, such as JaQuan McMillan, PJ Locke and Baron Browning play allowed the defense to get back to forcing turnovers. During the 5 game wins streak, the defense forced 16 turnovers, more than any other professional football team during that time span.
Those turnovers caused the second change to take full effect: Sean Payton trusts Russell Wilson, and now the offense is able to thrive. Russell Wilson has made several adjustments compared to last year, including actually using his legs to keep plays going. AKA, WHAT HE WAS DOING IN SEATTLE. Doing this is allowing our receivers to get open deep into the redzone. Plus, Russ throwing the ball really well has set up the 3-headed monster of Javonte WIlliams, Samaje Perine, and Jaleel Mcglachlin to do their thing in the running game.
In summary, the youth revolution on defense, plus the revamped, simplified offense has allowed for the team to look like a completely different unit compared to the beginning of the season. As for the rest of the season, I predict we go 4-0 in our remaining games, putting us at 11-6, which will just be good enough to give us the 6 seed. Let’s go Broncos!