While every team is feeling a little worse for the wear at this point in the season, it seems like the Denver Broncos have been hit especially hard. In the last few weeks, the Broncos injury report has been just about as crowded as the concourse at Sports Authority Stadium during halftime, and it all culminated in an ugly loss to the Raiders last Sunday.

Things are a little better this week; Peyton Manning is back on the field practicing, DeMarcus Ware has another week under his belt and there aren’t any new injury concerns that the Broncos need to worry about. But as Denver prepares for their stretch run before the playoffs, this may be the best news yet.

Right now, the Broncos and Bengals are locked in a two-way tie for the second seed in the AFC, and their Monday night matchup next week should go a long way towards determining who gets that second bye; facing off against AJ McCarron instead of Andy Dalton could make a huge difference.

Dalton hasn’t always been a fan favorite in Cincinnati, but this season he’s been playing at nearly an MVP level. Before suffering a broken thumb last weekend against the Steelers, he was on pace for 33 touchdowns, nearly 4,300 yards and just 8 interceptions. Even if a lot of the credit deserves to go to his supporting cast, that’s an impressive season.

Now, the Broncos are set to be matched up against McCarron, a former fifth-round selection out of Alabama, a school not necessarily known for producing professional quarterbacks.

McCarron was solid in relief of Dalton last week, completing 69 percent of his passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, but he’ll face a much different challenge against this Broncos defense.

We’ve known this was going to be an extremely important game for weeks now, but I have a hard time believing anybody thought Brock Osweiler and AJ McCarron would be dueling it out in late December for a chance at a first-round bye in the playoffs.

But first, let’s just hope the Broncos can take care of the Steelers in Pittsburgh this Sunday.