30 questions: There's no place like home

There is something in the air in Denver, or perhaps it is the lack of it, that has long made Denver one of the toughest places to win for visiting teams. Since 1990, the Broncos have the third-most home wins, and the fourth-highest home field winning percentage in the NFL.

Over Peyton Manning’s three seasons as the Broncos quarterback, the team has posted a 22-2 regular season record at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, including a perfect 8-0 in 2014.

Home playoff losses in 2012 and 2014 brought a dim end to two otherwise outstanding seasons, but shouldn’t discount Denver’s dominance at home.

In 2015, the Broncos will play home games against the Ravens, Vikings, Packers, Chiefs, Patriots, Raiders, Bengals, and Chargers. Of these eight, only the Vikings and Raiders finished 2014 with a record worse than 9-7. With a slew of last season’s playoff teams coming to town, the home slate is expected to be challenging.

So, what will the Broncos home record be next season?

With the talent the Broncos have on their roster, a repeat of last season’s 8-0 home record isn’t out of the question. A healthy Manning and an engaged coaching staff will give the Broncos a chance to win every game played at 5,280 feet.

The toughest home games will likely be against the Ravens, the Packers, and the Patriots.

Broncos fans who haven’t suppressed January 12, 2013 and the divisional playoff loss to the Ravens deep into their subconscious understand that the Broncos will have to play with great intensity to beat Baltimore. The Broncos may have gotten revenge for the playoff loss with 2013’s 49-27 trouncing, but that doesn’t make Baltimore any less of a difficult matchup. Baltimore nearly beat New England in last year’s playoffs, leading by double-digits twice in New England before surrendering the lead late. They’ll be looking to set a tone early in 2015. What better way to do it than against Denver on the road in Week 1?

The Broncos host the Green Bay Packers Week 8, following their Week 7 bye. The Broncos should be healthy and rested after the week off, but that won’t make the task of slowing down Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, and the Green Bay offense any easier. The Packers have the personnel and offensive firepower to win a shootout on the road.

The Patriots haven’t come to Denver for a regular season game since Tim Tebow was the Broncos’ starting quarterback. The defending Super Bowl champs will have quarterback Tom Brady, currently suspended for four games, back for the week 12 matchup. As it stands today, New England is Denver’s biggest threat to going unbeaten at home.

The Broncos have a chance to win all three of these games, but could realistically lose one, two, or even all three.

The five other home games will be no cakewalk. The Broncos have gone 17-1 against the AFC West, and 8-1 at home, since Peyton Manning took over at quarterback, and you can guarantee that the Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers would like to change that.

The Bengals beat the Broncos in Cincinnati last season, and have made the playoffs each of the past four seasons. The Vikings add Adrian Peterson back to a young roster that has finally found a quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater. Both teams are talented, and both games will be tough.