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Joynt: Broncos Have A Great Shot To Make Playoffs

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Oct 23, 2008 4:04 pm US/Mountain

Joynt: Broncos Have A Great Shot To Make Playoffs

AFC West Turning Out To Be Very Weak

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Written by Andrew B. Joynt for cbs4denver.com
DENVER (CBS4) ― As bad as the Denver Broncos have been defensively this season they can still win the AFC West.

They've got a great shot because they have been very strong offensively, the division is weak and the remaining schedule is soft. With an AFC West title and a berth in the playoffs, anything could happen.

The Broncos offense has been truly magnificent, especially in the pass game:

-- First in total offense in the AFC
-- First in third down conversion percentage
-- First in pass yards per game
-- First in yards per carry for the running game

They need to continue to let the pass dictate the offensive game plan. The success of the pass game will allow the Broncos to be able to utilize the run game at strategic moments in the game. Even with the offensive unit being hampered by injuries, the Broncos have had continued offensive success.

If they let Cutler throw more and more, then the offensive potential of the Broncos is limitless ... if the defense gives them a chance (a defense that ranks second to last in the AFC).

The AFC West is bad. Really, really bad.

The four worst defenses in the AFC are the four AFC West teams. That type of divisional defensive shortcoming has never happened since division realignment.

The Raiders and the Chiefs are two organizations in shambles and the Chargers are underperforming on multiple levels. This is perhaps the year that an 8-8 or 9-7 record will be the runaway winner in the West.

The Broncos remaining schedule is full of winnable games. Three of their four home games are winnable; Miami, Oakland, and Kansas City should all be games in which the Broncos are favored. The rest of the road schedule is not particularly daunting either; the Broncos are going to Cleveland, Atlanta, New York, Carolina and San Diego.

If the Broncos can get through those nine games with a five or six victories and finish the season at 10-6 or 9-7 in the weak AFC West, that should be good enough for a postseason berth.

It was just two seasons ago that the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl. The Colts had an underwhelming defense that was highly criticized heading into the playoffs that year. But they also had Peyton Manning and a prolific offense that ranked as one of the best in the NFL that year.

Sound familiar? The 2006 Colts and the 2008 Broncos certainly aren't mirror images of each other, but comparisons do exist.

Of course, the Colts started that season 9-0 and finished 12-4 before advancing to the postseason, but the argument can still be made regarding their statistical comparison.

Perhaps Broncos fans shouldn't be dreading the embarrassment of the New England game or cursing the porous defensive performance thus far in 2008. In a down year in the AFC West, the Broncos can steal the division and sneak into the playoffs, where their offense could take them to the Elway heights of the past.


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