The Denver Broncos are coming off one of their best wins in years with a 24-9 victory over the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. While that only raised them to 3-5, coach Sean Payton said he’s standing pat with the team he has at the trade deadline.
“We’re not openly or even remotely shopping anyone,” Payton told reporters in a conference call Monday after Denver beat the Chiefs for the first time since 2015.
To aid in your efforts at Colorado sportsbooks, BetColorado.com took a look at teams that were 3-5 after Week 8 in 2022 to gauge the Broncos’ chances of turning things around in 2023. Based on what happened in 2022, when the Broncos were also 3-5, don’t expect things to get much better.
3-5 Teams After Week 8 in 2022
Oddsmakers agree with last year’s trends when it comes to the Broncos playoff chances. Denver is just +800 to make the postseason and -1400 to miss out.
Only One 3-5 Team Made Playoffs
Of the seven teams to stand at 3-5 after Week 8 in 2022, only Tampa Bay advanced to the playoffs. However, that’s only because an 8-9 record won the NFC South, while the 9-8 Detroit Lions, who finished second in the NFC North, had to stay home.
Five of the seven teams finished last in their respective divisions, as the Browns and Saints went 4-5, the Broncos went 2-7, the Cardinals went 1-8 and the Bears were 0-9 to close the season. Only the Packers matched the Bucs’ 5-4 run to finish 8-9.
Now, it’s possible Denver could turn things around and finish second in the AFC West, because Las Vegas is also 3-5 and the Los Angeles Chargers are 3-4. However, the Broncos are still three games behind the Chiefs, and they currently rank 15 out of 16 AFC teams in tiebreakers for the playoffs.
That leaves the Broncos needing to copy San Francisco’s 9-0 finish after Week 8 in 2022 to think about getting into the playoffs this year. Denver is off this week, but when it returns to action on Nov. 13 at Buffalo, it surely will be the underdog against the Bills, who are 5-3 and fighting the Dolphins for the AFC East title.
While the Bills are among the top 10 teams in championship odds, the Broncos Super Bowl odds are +20000 and among the 10 worst in the NFL.
