The Denver Broncos host the Cleveland Browns tonight to close out Week 13 National Football League action. The Broncos came into the season with Super Bowl odds that were in the triple figures, now they are in a prime position to secure one of the seven AFC playoff dates next month.
Their turnaround in great part can be traced to two important ingredients: the head coach and their quarterback.
Sean Payton knows how to win in this league, he had the New Orleans Saints among the best teams during most of the nine seasons he was head coach in the Big Easy. His time in New Orleans included a Super Bowl win to complete the 2009 season. He is also very good at coaching quarterbacks, Drew Brees is simply waiting for his five-year waiting sentence before being eligible to enter the Hall of Fame on a certain first ballot induction.
This year, the long odds on the Broncos were attributed to a pair of factors seemingly working against them. First, Payton did not excel in the win/loss column in his initial season in the Mile High City, and second, they were entering the 2024 season with the uncertainty a rookie quarterback will always bring into the mix.
But Bo Nix has not been any rookie quarterback. While the first two picks in this year’s NFL draft have gained most the headlines, Caleb Williams in Chicago and Jayden Daniels in Washington, Nix has led his team to as many wins entering the week as Daniels has earned for the Commanders and more than Williams has registered with the Bears.
Nix is also not a rookie by age, the quarterback played five years of college football at Auburn and Oregon and is 24 years old. His maturity and experience is showing up on the field.
Entering the final month of the regular season, the Broncos currently sit with three teams that have won eight games this season and in search of a Wild Card berth. The Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens have all won eight games, the Broncos look to join that group with their eighth victory tonight.
As for the Browns, they are not yet in the eliminated group, which includes the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders in the AFC and the New York Giants from the NFC. But, with a loss tonight, they have only three wins on the season, they can kiss any late season miracle run goodbye.
So, it’s the Broncos at home easy tonight?
Well, before we dismiss this Cleveland team, know that they have a couple monumental upsets to their credit this season. In their last October contest, they upset the highly regarded Baltimore Ravens, and last week on a Thursday night, they downed the first-place team in the AFC North Division, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It may also be worth noting that from a point spread perspective the Browns also clipped another powerhouse opponent this season, losing by fourth points while getting nine points on the line against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
In other words, as bad as the straight-up record of the Browns would indicate a weak team, this is a squad capable of putting together a big effort against their most talented rivals.
Now, with nearly two weeks to celebrate their Thursday night win over the Steelers, I’m not thinking this Browns team is challenged quite enough to be counted on for another big effort tonight in Denver.
But the problem is that possibility can’t be ruled out and the generous 6½ point spread makes this contest more debatable than whether Thanksgiving or Christmas is the best holiday.