Can the Denver Broncos make a second-half run?

The first half of the Denver Broncos season hasn’t gone how the organization or the fans hoped, but the second half of the season presents them the chance to right the ship.

Could the Denver Broncos make a second-half run?

Momentum is very real in the National Football League, but the bigger question is whether or not the Broncos can capture it at the right time. Despite beating the Jacksonville Jaguars to improve to 3-5 heading into the bye week, Denver has the opportunity to make a run in the second half of the season.

The Broncos’ offense has to be better, plain and simple. As it currently stands, the Broncos are the NFL’s worst scoring offense with noted struggles in the red zone and on third down. To put things into perspective, the Broncos have a better conversion percentage on fourth down (6 of 12) than they do on third down (33 of 113) yet four of their five losses have come by one possession or fewer.

Anything is possible, right? This NFL season has taught all of us to expect the unexpected, which puts the Broncos in a unique spot. Nobody expects Denver to get the offense on track finally or beat the tough array of opponents they’ll face.

Denver’s first test comes on the road against the Tennessee Titans who despite having their own struggles with various inconsistencies are sitting in first place in the AFC South. Led by Derrick Henry who is the third-leading rusher in the National Football League, the Broncos’ defense will have to focus on limiting him from taking over on the ground next week.

After Tennessee, the Broncos will face the Raiders at home followed by back-to-back road games against the Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens. After that, Denver will face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs and Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals for a two-game homestand. To conclude the second half of Denver’s season, they’ll face the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day, the Chiefs on the road, and will conclude the season with a home matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.

What would a second-half run entail when the room for error is so small for the Broncos? Simply put, the offense has to be leagues better than they were during the first half of the season. Ideally, Denver’s cushion is no more than two losses to keep their playoff hopes alive after digging themselves into a 3-5 hole to open things up. However, the opponents Denver has to face, sets the table for them to do the unexpected if the offense can play even at a middle-of-the-pack level.

Defensively, the Broncos have one of the league’s best overall units led by defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, but after the Bradley Chubb trade, various players will be expected to step up even further. Baron Browning is hopeful to be ready for the start of the second half, but Randy Gregory could require more time before he’s able to come back. If the Broncos can win their first three games of the second half against the Titans, Raiders, and Panthers, they’ll have some much-needed momentum and will likely have Gregory back before they play the Chiefs.

While the outlook for Denver doesn’t appear favorable in any capacity in the second half, stranger things have happened in the National Football League, and perhaps, led by Russell Wilson, the Broncos can change many of the narratives that have been written about them after a disastrous start.

Is a stretch run off the table for Wilson and the Broncos, or can they make a run and shock the world? The narrative would certainly be welcomed locally.