When the Broncos lost to the Raiders on Sunday, most fans were bemoaning the fact that the team lost its control of the No. 1 seed in the AFC; in order to get home-field advantage in the playoffs, Denver will need some help in the final three weeks of the season.
But that’s not the only postseason scenario that took a hit when Oakland pulled off the second-half comeback. Now, Denver has some work to do in order to secure a first-round bye, the AFC West and even a spot in the playoffs. None of them are guaranteed. Yet.
In order to secure their positioning, the Broncos can help themselves out a bunch; winning at Pittsburgh, as well as at home against Cincinnati and San Diego, will lock up the No. 2 seed. But anything short of that could see Denver fall to No. 3, 4, 5, 6 or below.
For that to not happen, the Broncos need other teams in the mix – the Patriots, Bengals, Chiefs, Jets and Steelers – to lose some games. And none of those franchises are facing a gauntlet down the stretch. Thus, Denver is going to need some lesser teams to pull the upset if they are going to secure the spot they want in the playoffs.
In this week’s edition of “Power Rankings” we look at the five underdogs the Broncos should be cheering for between now and the end of the season:
