Sunday’s tilt in Foxborough carries little more significance than a pre-season game
“While there’s little question that a victory on Sunday would be a fantastic boon to the Broncos’ season, it’s wrong to assume that a loss would carry devastating consequences. In fact, the Broncos can lose on Sunday with little concern at all.”
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All of Broncos Country is atwitter about Denver’s upcoming tilt in Foxborough on Sunday against the 5-2 New England Patriots. At stake, most folks feel, is the top seed in the AFC and home field advantage during the playoffs. After eight weeks of competition it feels as though the Broncos and the Patriots are the two teams to beat in the conference. Despite New England having gotten off to a rocky start to their season it seems as though now they’re on a collision course with the Broncos for the AFC Championship game for the second straight season and fans are fearful that if the Broncos lose on Sunday it could lead to an unwanted wintertime road trip. Nobody wants to see the Broncos, and particularly Peyton Manning, forced to earn another trip to the Super Bowl in chilly New England in January.
While there’s little question that a victory on Sunday would be a fantastic boon to the Broncos’ season, it’s wrong to assume that a loss would carry devastating consequences. In fact, the Broncos can lose on Sunday with little concern at all. A quick glance at the schedules of both the Broncos and the Patriots is likely to sooth even the edgiest of Broncos fans.
While the Broncos follow the Pats game with road games at the Raiders and the Rams, the Patriots, after their week ten bye, must go on the road to face Andrew Luck in week eleven then host Matt Stafford and the Lions in week twelve. Then, while the Broncos return home to face the Dolphins and travel to Arrowhead to visit the Chiefs, the Patriots must travel to face both the Packers and the Chargers. After that half of Denver’s four remaining games are at home. They face the Bills, Bengals, Chargers and Raiders while the Patriots battle all division opponents in the Bills, Jets and Dolphins.
Aside from the clear scheduling advantage the Broncos possess over the Patriots for the remainder of the season, Broncos fans can take solace in the fact that the Broncos have a superior defense to New England’s. The Broncos have the number one run-stuffing unit in the entire NFL. They’re ranked in the middle of the pack against the pass and fourth overall defensively. The Pats, on the other hand, are twelfth overall in terms of defense. Teams are running the ball all over them. They’re a dismal 25th against the run.
The Broncos will remain tops in the AFC power ranking even if they lose this week. But it’s very possible that the Broncos will beat the Pats on Sunday and that all of this chatter will be water under the bridge. If that happens we’ll be on top of the world, looking down our orange and blue noses at the blue-blooded Pats and all other comers at 7-1 and with every tie-breaker in hand. It would be glorious. But there’s no reason to panic if the Broncos lose because for all the hype surrounding Sunday’s game it carries little more significance than a pre-season game.
