A four-game win streak has the Denver Broncos hopeful of turning around years of misfortune in Sean Payton’s first year as coach.
That’s saying a lot for a team that lost 70-20 to Miami in Week 3. Since then, the Broncos are 5-2, cheering up Colorado sportsbooks customers by winning four of those games by three points or less.
With one of the most important months of the NFL season coming up, BetColorado.com utilized StatMuse.com to find the records of every NFL team in December since 2013 to find the best to worst teams. Note all teams didn’t participate in the same amount of games, so ranking is based on win percentage.
December Records Since 2013
The Broncos playoff odds are still long, with Denver listed as +300 to make the postseason vs. -380 to miss out.
Broncos Suffering Postseason Drought
The Broncos rank No. 20 with a 21-24 record for a .467 winning percentage since 2013. The time frame includes playoff trips in the first three years and two Super Bowl appearances.
However, that was with Peyton Manning at quarterback and since his retirement following the 2015 season the Broncos have missed the playoffs every year. They were out of the playoff chase by the time December rolled around most years and they have an 11-20 mark in the month since Manning left.
The lone good December was going 4-1 in 2019, but that only raised Denver to a 7-9 final record. The top three December teams since 2013 have been the Green Bay Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys.
Colorado sports betting apps still see the Chiefs as a Super Bowl favorite despite Monday’s loss to Philadelphia. Kansas City and the Eagles are tied for the best Super Bowl title odds with San Francisco at +450.
Oddly enough, only the Chiefs have turned that hot December play into Super Bowl victories with two. The Packers had four trips to the NFC Championship Game, but lost all four. The Cowboys only have three playoff wins in five playoff trips in that time frame. So, December success doesn’t always lead to playoff success.
The Broncos are currently a 2.5-point favorite at home against the 7-3 Cleveland Browns, according to ESPN BET Colorado. The Browns might have the best defense in the NFL, but the offense is struggling with quarterback Deshaun Watson out for the year.
Denver will be out to attack Cleveland quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and secure win No. 6 as it prepares for a December schedule with the Texans (6-4), Chargers (4-6), Lions (8-2), Patriots (2-8) and Chargers (4-6).
