Can the Broncos win more than they have the last two years? You bet.
Well, you can bet, that is.
Currently, the Denver Broncos over/under win total for 2020 is set at 7.5 games. And, if you’re a closer observer of the team than say, Las Vegas, you may be excited to see it set at that mark.
Looking at nearly every casino’s website in Vegas, the Broncos come in at 7.5, although a few have them at 8 wins. Interestingly, it’s been at 7.5 for weeks, even when Darren Rovell tweeted a few days ago that “99 percent” of bets have gone on the over at William Hill sports books.
And that makes sense, if you’re following the orange and blue.
In 2018, they went 6-10 with Vance Joseph being fired before the season was over. Last year, excitement was high preseason, as defensive master Vic Fangio came in with plenty of pieces to work with.
However, things didn’t go as planned in Denver to start the season. The team couldn’t generate pressure defensively for basically the entire first month of the season, and then Bradley Chubb was injured, setting the group back further. The Broncos went through a lot of turmoil and changes last year, including rotating in and out three different quarterbacks while also finding who were the best contributors on defense.
But, down the stretch of the season, the Broncos went 4-1, leaving fans’ hopes high. Drew Lock was inserted into the offense, and he was helped by the blossoming stardom of Courtland Sutton as well as the dynamic running of Phillip Lindsay.
Defensively, though, is where the Broncos really came on at the end of the year. Fangio’s ability to discover unknown talents — like Alexander Johnson and Mike Purcell — paid off huge as the unit allowed only 107 rush yards per game and forced seven turnovers in those last five contests. And, during that run, the Broncos averaged three sacks per game while they also put together their most completely dominating performance of the year against the then-solid Houston Texans.
In 2020, the Broncos will return Bradley Chubb to the field and help balance out the pass rush of an aging Von Miller. They also have arguably the best safety duo in the league. Offensively, Denver beefed up their playmaking abilities this offseason by drafting Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler in the first two rounds, respectively.
Simply, while there are likely to be some growing pains for the Broncos due to a great change in personnel on both sides of the ball, the 2020 team is more talented and factors to be better than last year.