Home, sweet home.
Since 1975, the Denver Broncos home winning percentage of 73.1 (263-97-0) is the best in the NFL. However, when they leave the friendly confines of the Mile High City, things change.
Especially recently. Over the last two seasons, the Denver Broncos have gone 3-10 (23.1 percent) on the road under Vance Joseph. That’s a ridiculously bad record, even if it is more difficult to win games with opposing fans screaming, chanting and going wild.
But, Joseph doesn’t buy into the hype of playing on the road.
“I’ve worked in San Francisco where you traveled on Fridays for every east coast road trip,” he said at Dove Valley on Wednesday. “When we played well we won, and when we didn’t play well, we lost. No magic to it.”
He may have a point. The Broncos have won two of their last three road contests, against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7 and they knocked off the Chargers in Los Angeles in Week 11. In both of those games, the team played well, and they won.
So, all Joseph has to do is get his team to play well this week and they’ll win, right? It hasn’t been easy for the team’s head coach to motivate them to wins over his nearly two-year tenure, as they’ve gone a combined 10-17 during his time in Denver. And, once again, 3-10 on the road.
Facing a must-win road game this week at Cincinnati, Denver and Joseph are going to have to find a way to play their best, against a Bengals team who is also in a must-win position.
Both the Broncos and the Bengals are locked at 5-6 overall, each clinging desperately onto their playoff chances, which are dwindling.
Cincinnati lost starting quarterback Andy Dalton to the Injured Reserve, meaning Jeff Driskel will get the start. But, the Bengals will be getting wide receiver superstar A.J. Green back to the team, giving Driskel a deadly receiving threat.
After losing three straight games, the Bengals are regressing as Denver is progressing, but, Cincinnati will be hungry for a win this Sunday.
Historically, the Broncos have a strong 21-10 record against the Bengals, and they’ve gone 3-1 in the last four times Denver’s played at Cincinnati. So, all they have to do now is play well, for the third straight time in a row.
Denver and Cincinnati kick off at 11 a.m. MT on Sunday.
