Can Denver Broncos Win 6th Straight Division Title?
By Dan Salem
Five in a row is impressive, but can the Denver Broncos really win a sixth straight AFC West title? Their opponents look strong and quarterback is a question. Will Denver remain atop the hill in 2016?
Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.
TODD:
The Denver Broncos have won five consecutive AFC West titles. That fact seems both crazy impressive and, at the same time…duh! Of course they have. The rest of the teams in the West have been less than stellar for some time, call it four years (2011 was hardly an impressive division title).
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Last year’s division title was one of the more impressive during the streak considering the season the Kansas City Chiefs put up, as well as the situation with the Denver offense. This all begs the question, do the Broncos make it six straight?
For one, the rest of the division is catching up, even beyond the Chiefs. The Oakland Raiders are everyone’s future darling. It just remains to be seen if the future is 2016 or sometime later. The triumvirate of Derek Carr, Latavius Murray and Amari Cooper should be excellent in due time, even if they aren’t there quite yet.
The San Diego Chargers should also be much better than they were last season. Philip Rivers is great; all he needs is help. I expect him to get that help with a bounce-back Melvin Gordon sophomore year and a healthy Keenan Allen year.
The Chiefs should also hold steady. They get Jamaal Charles back and have the pieces remaining from what was a very good defense. People hate on Alex Smith because his ceiling is low. The part they leave out is that his floor is rather high. He could be the third-best quarterback in this division and still be an above-average starter in this league.
Which brings us to Denver, the team that will most certainly have the fourth-best (AKA, worst) quarterback in the AFC West. While everyone else stayed steady or got better, the Broncos will most likely be considerably worse than they were a season ago. It is hard to avoid that when a team has just won the Super Bowl. Regression is almost certain. But with Denver, it’s more than that. It will likely fall from being historically great on defense, to something approaching great or above-average. And the team’s offense is going to be led by either Mark Sanchez, Paxton Lynch or Trevor Siemian. That…is not good.
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Granted, Denver made it as far as it did with statistically the worst qualified QB in the league last year in Peyton Manning, but at least Manning had knowledge and smarts and whatever else that comes after arm strength in a scouting report. He couldn’t make any throws, but he knew where each ball should go. That’s something! I’m not sure any quarterback on this team is going to know where to throw snap to snap.
Of course, the rest of the Broncos are still good, especially if C.J. Anderson is able to put a full season together at running back. That means they will be in the running for that sixth title. Every team in the West gets the AFC South and NFC South on their schedule, except the Broncos also have the first-place slate of New England and Cincinnati to contend with. Compare that to KC, who instead faces the Jets and a (possible Le’Veon Bell-less) Steelers squad. I think this is finally the year the Broncos fall short of first place.
DAN:
It’s interesting to think that Denver is not only the defending Super Bowl champion, but a five time division champion. Six straight feels unprecedented, yet unlike you I’d be more surprised if the Broncos fail to once again capture the AFC West title. In fact, I’m going to make a stand. Denver wins their division once again.
Whether or not being the best team in your division was impressive, it’s still an incredible accomplishment. Denver won it fair and square in 2011 and managed to continue to do so despite its competition being extremely good. The Chiefs won eleven games in 2013 and 2015, making the playoffs both seasons. San Diego was also a playoff team in 2013, with Philip Rivers leading the way every season in which the Broncos have won the division title. But who cares about history, am I right? In 2016 Denver remains in charge.
Outside of the quarterback position, the Broncos look nearly as formidable as their championship team from a season ago. If the defense takes a step back from all-time great to just really good, that is still better than each and every division opponent and certainly good enough to carry the offense at times. Speaking of offense, the playmakers at wide receiver are still around and Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders will make the job easy for whomever is at quarterback. So will the running game. This is still a ten win team, good enough for first place in the West.
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I’m a big fan of how the Raiders are improving and the playoffs are definitely in play this season. But they are not going to win the division. I’m also on board with a bounce back for the Chargers and the Chiefs holding strong. Yet all three teams have flaws that seem vastly greater than the question at quarterback for Denver. Mark Sanchez nearly took the Jets to the Super Bowl with a team constructed much like the Broncos currently are, yet his teams in New York did not have the wide receivers which Denver does. He should win the job and can easily match Alex Smith’s production. Consistency and turnovers may be an issue, but Denver’s defense will be ready. The AFC West is once again their’s for the taking.