Are the Broncos better off losing to Baltimore?
No passionate fan ever wants to see his or her favorite team lose. There is a case to be made, however, that a Broncos loss to the Ravens on Sunday could actually be a good thing.
If we assume that Denver is unlikely to secure the #2 seed in the AFC Playoffs and that they will, instead, wind up with the #3 or #4 position and host a Wild Card game, and we assume that they will win that game, we want them to be the #4 seed. Otherwise they will probably have to go into New England the following week. Wouldn’t we rather see them travel to Houston?
This kind of thing would never enter into the Broncos’ thinking, thank goodness. They will “play to win the game” without question. But it’s food for though, Broncos Country.
Maybe a loss to the Ravens wouldn’t be all that big of a deal. Ultimately, it only matters if it keeps the Broncos from snagging a Playoff bye. And, since they already have losses to both the Pats and the Texans on the books, they are on the outside looking in on that scenario anyhow.
We will all don our Orange and Blue on Sunday and root, root, root for another Broncos win. But at least there’s some justification for saying “meh” if they don’t get it.
